Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors is proud to introduce you to The Donohue Family: Kevin, Jaclyn, James, Lincoln and Juliette. This very active family of five knows the true meaning of family and makes the most out of every meaningful moment.
Jaclyn spent most of her childhood in Broomall, where she lived with her parents and four older siblings. “I have a bit of a Brady Bunch story,” she explained. “Both of my parents were married previously and each had two children before I came along.” Jaclyn added that she feels very fortunate that they are all incred- ibly close and literally close by, all living in Delaware County.
Jaclyn attended St. Pius X Grade School and Cardinal O’Hara High School, where she was a member of the cheer squad and the student council. When she wasn’t busy with school activi- ties, Jaclyn was dancing. “I grew up dancing at Touch of Class Dance Studio, where I was involved in competitive dance,” she said. “That meant lots of long hours in the studio and lots of traveling to regional and national competitions.”
After high school, Jaclyn went to the Art Institute of Philadelphia to earn her degree in Fashion Marketing. That led her to the QVC group, a television channel based in West Chester, where she still works today. “I was fortunate to start my career at QVC as an intern in 2010 in merchandising buying,” she said. “Since then, I have taken many different opportunities within the company: buying merchandise for all different categories like jewelry, accessories, handbags and footwear.”
Her career has afforded her many amazing opportunities. She became a Knowledge Share Mentor, where she spent four months in Beijing, China and managed QVC’s Global Brands Portfolio, partnering with their international markets. Jaclyn was involved in some special initiatives/start-up projects based in New York, and most recently, she oversees the Live Strategy for Social Platforms for QVC and the Home Shopping Network (HSN).
“Livestream shopping is still so new in the US and hasn’t even scratched the surface. I love being at the forefront of building something amazing and setting new records and doing it with a legacy retailer such as QVC that has always been the leader in video commerce,” Jaclyn explained. Her role involves analyzing the results to ensure they are making data-driven decisions, monitoring talent and creators, and also keeping a tight pulse
on the product and life cycles of products.
Kevin is originally from Drexel Hill, where he lived with his parents and three brothers. He attended St. Dorothy’s for grade school and graduated from Devon Preparatory School, where he played soccer, basketball, baseball, and ran track. Kevin continued his education at the University of South Carolina, earning his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Naval Science, and then attended the Delaware County Municipal Police Academy.
“I spent two years working in the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department and briefly with the Darby Borough Police Department before being hired at Upper Darby Township Police Department, where I have been a Patrolman for almost 14 years,” Kevin said. “I enjoy protecting and serving the residents of Upper Darby and keeping them safe.” Kevin did add that every day comes with its own challenges, and that you never know what you are walking into. “I’ve faced many high-risk situations, which have really given me a different perspective on life and how to live it to the fullest!”
In addition to law enforcement, Kevin is also a Mortgage Loan Officer, a path he decided to pursue in 2018 as a way to learn more about the real estate industry and something he can do outside of his full-time job. “I enjoy being a part of the home-buying process and assisting in one of the biggest decisions my clients will make.”
Speaking of big decisions, we’re pretty certain that Kevin would agree that attending his fellow police officer’s wedding back in 2014 was not only a significant one, but also one of his best. “That’s where I met Jaclyn, who just so happened to be the groom’s sister,” Kevin laughed. They hit it off right away and had their first official date at the Oakmont Pub in Havertown.
The happy couple dated for a few years before buying their first home in Broomall. “I would jokingly say, who needs a ring when you can lock him in with a 30-year mortgage?” Jaclyn said. “Luckily, I ended up getting the ring just a short time after.” Kevin had planned a surprise proposal at Stone & Key Wine Cellar while they were making a batch of wine with some friends. After he popped the question and she said yes, Kevin surprised Jaclyn by organizing a celebration with family and friends at the Oakmont Pub, where it all began.
The wedding planning got underway, and the date was set for May 25, 2018. Jaclyn and Kevin exchanged vows at St. Dorothy’s Church, followed by a fun-filled reception with 325 guests at the Waterworks in Philadelphia. “We had a big wedding that involved a lot of planning! Kevin and I knew
after that, we wanted to spend our honeymoon relaxing, so an all-inclusive resort in Barbados was the perfect way to spend our first two weeks as husband and wife.”
Life moved quickly from there, when one year later, they welcomed their first son, James, who is now an active and imaginative 5-year-old. James is excited to begin kindergarten this month, along with playing fall ball at Newtown Edgmont Little League and flag football for Rose Tree. “James loves baseball and has recently gotten into playing golf, tennis and pickleball,” Kevin said. Jaclyn added that although James is an old soul and wise beyond his years, he’ll tell you that when he grows up, he will be playing Major League Baseball and driving a Lamborghini.
Next up is three-year-old Lincoln, who aspires to be a police officer and a daddy someday. Although Lincoln is too young for organized sports, he enjoys participating in the Healthy Kids Running Series and can often be found flipping and jumping on anything and everything. “Lincoln may be our textbook middle child, but no matter what, you can always expect him to tell you how much he loves you in the sweetest voice,” Jaclyn said warmly.
Last, but certainly not least, is one-year-old Juliette. She’s recently hit her stride, and Jaclyn said she thinks she will take after her mommy and be a dancer. “Juliette loves to dance, clap and smile,” she said. “She is the happiest baby and the perfect balance to our two wild boys!” Kevin is indeed smitten with his little girl, with the most beautiful blue eyes and a smile that is contagious.
Family time is spent staying active in the neighborhood, at the ballpark to root for the Phillies and long beach days at the Jersey Shore. They are active parishioners at St. Dorothy’s Church and also members at White Manor Country Club, where Kevin enjoys golfing, and the rest of the family enjoys all the fun events, as well as the pool. Jaclyn continues to fuel her love of dance, becoming a certified barre instructor and Kevin stays active by competing in triathlons and local running events.
Somewhere between working full-time jobs, growing their family and staying active, Kevin and Jaclyn made the move from Broomall to Edgmont. “We moved to Okehocking Hills in July of 2021,” Jaclyn recalled. “We first stumbled upon this neighborhood back in 2019, and fell in love with it.” At that time, Kevin and Jaclyn weren’t in the market to move, but two years later, when the housing market was healthy, they decided to put their house up for sale after completing some renovations. “We planned to move in with Kevin’s parents until we found something, but to our surprise, a house popped onto the market, and when we saw that it was in the neighborhood we loved, we knew we had to jump at the opportunity.”
A few weeks later, the Donohues became Edgmont’s newest residents. They describe their home and their neighborhood as exactly what they always wished for. Making it even more special is that the house was accommodating enough for Jaclyn’s mom to move in with them. The neighborhood is filled with families and neighbors who are kind, fun and generous. They especially love the annual bonfire, trick-or-treating, the neighborhood holiday dinner and the Easter egg hunt.
The memories that Kevin, Jaclyn and the kids are making are incredibly special, and not long after they moved in, they had the opportunity to make an unexpected, but significant connection with the previous owners of the property.
“We have a pond in our backyard with seven koi fish. The house had a pond when we purchased it, which was something entirely new for us, so we had to learn how to take care of and maintain it,” Jaclyn explained. “After the first year, the pond developed a large hole in it. Not wanting to get rid of the fish, we decided to have someone redo the entire pond.” This is where the story takes a turn. Kevin said that while attending his eighth-grade school reunion, an old classmate told him that she knew the original owners of the house, the Lancaster Family.
His classmate made the connection, spoke to Jaclyn and offered to initiate an introduction. “I told her I had found something that belonged to the Lancasters in the backyard near the pond: three garden stones that were buried underneath the mulch. Each stone had a painted fish with one saying: “Dad’s Greatest Catch,” and the other two had their children’s names on them, Ashley and Eddie,” she said. “I wanted to return them to Mr. Lancaster (Ed), whom we had learned had lost both his wife and his son Eddie.”
Soon enough, Kevin and Jaclyn were connected, and they hosted Ed and his daughter, Ashley, over the Christmas holiday, where they reminisced about the house. “Ed told us that the pond was a gift from his son Eddie, which made us happy that we decided to have the pond restored,” Kevin said. “We returned the garden stones to him, and he was beyond grateful.” Ed went home and immediately found a special spot to display the stones and sent Kevin and Jaclyn a picture. “The pond is beautiful and peaceful and now even more special that we know its story,” Jaclyn said.
Bringing People Together is our magazine’s mission, and sharing your family’s story does just that. It also reminds us to cherish the time we have with each other and to look for opportunities to connect with our friends and neighbors. May you make many more meaningful memories in the years to come.
Know a Newtown Edgmont family, individual or group who should be better known by everyone in our community?
Make your nominations for upcoming feature articles by emailing your ideas to Sheila Turner-Hilliard at STurnerHilliard@BestVersionMedia.com.