2021 Hometown Heroes

Page 24 2021 Hometown HEROES Magazine LINCOLN DAILY NEWS May 27, 2021 CONTINUED u Change of a culture is slow and compound. O’Donohue’s insights, resourcefulness and steadfastness changed a multitude of lives. Her fierce protectiveness against corrupt government entities and others rivaled a mother tigress. Here is some of her story: The loss of Barb O’Donohue in August 2020 impacted many people in communities both near and far. O’Donohue moved from the Chicago area to Lincoln in the 1980s. At that time, O’Donohue established General Consulting Service. She rehabbed in the old JC Penney building for the insurance consulting firm which employed about 30 workers. O’Donohue soon became a significant part of the Lincoln community. Working with the chamber of commerce to promote downtown, O’Donohue was instrumental in helping set up the “Trolley” shuttle that ran a bus route through downtown, the campuses of the colleges, to Walmart area and made stops around town where needed. She pointed out that there were 1,500 people who worked in downtown area who needed places to eat. It was on O’Donohue’s first trip to Kenya, Africa in 1997 with Dr. Paul and Mary Boatman that her life changed. Dr. Boatman said when O’Donohue made this initial trip, it was during a time she sensed God was calling on her to extend her life of service. This trip took them to a remote and isolated African village in Pokot called Tapadany.