Memorial Fund for Eastern Market Farmer Dan Donahue
by Larry Janezich
Posted September 27, 2025
Dan Donahue’s engaging presence on the Farmer’s Line at Eastern Market on weekends stretched for 34 years. Dan passed last year and his friends at the Market have launched a GoFundMe to raise $10,000 to inter Dan’s ashes in Congressional Cemetery. As a decorated veteran, Dan could have been buried in Arlington Cemetery, according to his long-time friend Chris Girardot of Ravenhook Bake House. But Dan was not interested in that, Girardot said; “Dan loved Capitol Hill, and Congressional Cemetery is the place where Dan should be.”
Here’s a link to the fundraiser. https://www.gofundme.com/dan-donahue
A celebration of life for Dan will be held on Monday, October 13 at 11:00am at Capitol Hill United Methodist Church, 412 Seward Square, SE. Dan had been a regular contributor of food the church’s meal center.
Girardot says that Dan had not worked at the Market in the year before his death, as debts mounted; “Dan was a mentor to me, and it matters to me what happens to him. Everything he did was to make his food and his stand better and to leave people happy.”
His survivors include his sister, Patricia, several nieces and nephews, and his former wife, Susan Donahue of Maryland.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 