City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Eric Brent Donovan
Raleigh, North Carolina
Age 76.
Died 05/29/2026.
He was 76 years old having been born in Washington, D.C. to his parents Ellsworth and Dorothy Donovan. There were four Dovovan brothers Greg, now deceased, Eric, Kent, and Don. Those who will also miss him are his brothers' wives: Kyle, Jennifer, and Connie. Rounding out his family ties are nephew, Evan and wife Sarah Donovan and nieces Anna Addcox, Ely Gordan and husband Matt, Jill and Erik Leist, along with Kate and Elvin Kristian. Also remembered are great nephew, Aiden and great niece Gemma Donovan. The Gordon girls, Kara, Nora, and Rose join the young nieces along with Zoey and Else. And not forgotten is his first great niece Lily and great nephew James Addcox.
He is a product of the Fairfax County, Virginia public schools and a graduate from the University of Illinois, earning a B.A in Liberal Arts and Sciences. Rounding out his professional education was the University of Wyoming where he earned a Juris Doctor degree.
The greater part of his works experience was with the federal government at the Office of Personnel Management in the Department of Justice, Civilian division where he was the COTR, contracting officer technical representative tending to a couple hundred cases a year. He collected data for documents to be used in trials for significant cases. These documents were instrumental in supporting trial lawyers as they were arguing their cases in the U.S. courts. Among some of them were asbestos litigation as well as the break up of the AT&T monopoly, and he set up the communication satellite, Exon Valdes, which enabled attorneys in Alaska to have access to all records assessed. All of these offered a great service to our country.
Eric loved animals and had a heart for those in need as evidenced by his volunteering at the local veterinary medicine clinic in his town and was a member of the Friends of the Zoo in D.C. He donated children's books to the local branch of the county library and gave so many books to his nieces. His sister in law remarked that he gave lovely children's books to her girls and that they are now being read to grandchildren so they were the gift that keeps on giving even now. His little notes written inside will be treasured even more.
His nephew remembers reading Uncle Scrooge comics in his library and the books he gave him for Christmas sparked his imagination. He further stated he will miss his enthusiasm, his sense of humor, and his love for animals - both real and fantastical.
Eric worshipped at Trinity Baptist Church with his wife, Carol, and attended Sunday School class together. His teacher remarked that she has admiration for him and his engagement in the lessons. He made very insightful and knowledgeable contributions in regard to the lesson being studied together with such a witty sense of humor at times which was so engaging.
A celebration of life service will be held at their church in the near future.
We appreciate the care given to Eric in his last days by the wonderful people at Hospice. If you'd like to honor Eric in some meaningful way, contributions to the local Hospice would be wonderful. You can contribute in his memory to Transitions Grief Care on 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, NC 27607.
As a fitting conclusion, I offer some of Eric's last spoken words to his diligent care giver of five years, Myron..."Thank you. You take such good care of me."
Carol and the family agree and feel that Eric's life here on Earth had been extended due to Myron's care. A simple thank you hardly seems enough owed to this wonderful gift.
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home offers Alkaline Hydrolysis. The Alkaline Hydrolysis process uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.