| Overall UK Wins: 0 | Overall UK Losses: 1 | Win % 0 |
Date of Birth: September 24, 1921
Date of Death: July 31, 2001
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Alma Mater: Chicago Teachers College
For a generalized listing of officials, please consult this page.
| Date | Matchup | W/L | Score | UK Fouls | Opp Fouls | UK FTA | Opp FTA | UK DQ | Opp DQ | Technicals | Officiating Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/31/1968 | Kentucky vs. Wisconsin | L | 65 - 69 | 23 | 18 | 24 | 33 | 1 | 1 | - | Ralph Stout and Kevin Donlan |
Obituary - Chicago Tribune (August 2, 2001)
Big 10 Official, Berkeley School Principal
by Crystal Yednak
Even when a Big Ten coach - or a whole crowd - was screaming at him, A. Kevin Donlan couldn't be swayed.
"He was a man of integrity," said friend Chuck Allen, who officiated Big Ten basketball games with Mr. Donlan.
Mr. Donlan, 79, of Plainfield, died Tuesday, July 31 in St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet of a massive stroke.
While Mr. Donlan may have been able to keep his cool, it was different for his wife and 11 children watching in the stands.
"The children would see people yelling at him, and hey would say 'Oh my gosh, Mom! Are they yelling at Dad?'" said his wife Martha, "But he thrived on it. He just knew how to handle people."
Officiating games was a "lucrative hobby" that came on top of his duties as a teacher and principal in Berkeley School District 87, she said.
Born in Chicago to Irish immigrants, Mr. Donlan graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep in 1939. He served in the U.S. Army domestically from 1943 to 1946, then married his first wife, Marie.
After earning a degree from Chicago Teachers College, he returned to S. Ignatius to teach and coach. He started with District 87 in 1955.
Marie died in 1970 after an illness, leaving Mr. Donald with seven children. He met his second wife, Martha, a widow with four children, at a pancake breakfast at the school where he was principal. In 1971, the two married, making news with the Brady Bunch-style merger of their families.
"Our goal was to have one big happy family, and I think we achieved that," his wife said.
But raising 11 children under one roof did present unique challenges. "we would go through 16 gallons of milk a week," said son Kevin Donlan. "And we didn't just make a pound of pasta, we made seven or eight."
Mr. Donlan began his officiating career with the Chicago Catholic League, then in 1955 for the Missouri Valley Conference. A few years later, he was picked up by the Big Ten and officiated basketball games there until 1974.
He retire from the school district in 1987, then took on side projects as a motivational speaker at basketball camps.
In addition to his wife and son, survivors include two other sons, Mark and Thomas; seven daughters, Mary Lou Woods, Karen McCauley, Therese Donlan, Maureen Breen, Missy Carbery, Marcey Futris and Michelle Spratt; and 16 grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Williams Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Rd. Wheaton. A mass will be said at 10 a.m. Friday at the Cathedral of St. Raymond, 604 N. Raynor Ave., Joliet.
