“It is with sadness we report that Rev. Patrick Donadio, chaplain to our Professional Studies students, passed away suddenly on Sunday, May 20, while visiting his son in Virginia,” said Dr. Jeff Fulks, director of Graduate and Professional Studies at Evangel University.
As chaplain, Donadio was available to offer spiritual counsel and encourage personal Christian disciplines to graduate and adult students. Chaplain Donadio’s first encounter with students was during new student orientation, where he explained Evangel’s Biblical foundation and lifestyle expectations.
“We are grateful for the years he volunteered to serve our Professional Studies students and the contribution he made to their spiritual development,” said Fulks. “Many have reported receiving encouragement and counsel from the monthly devotionals and spontaneous and scheduled meetings with him.”
Rev. Donadio lived in Springfield as a retired pastor and missionary. Prior to his service at Evangel University he served for 10 years as the director of U.S. Mission and Placement Service (MAPS) for the Assemblies of God. More recently he worked with Global Teen Challenge raising funds and recruiting MAPS teams to help construct Teen Challenge facilities overseas.
During his years of church ministry, Rev. Donadio traveled and ministered extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Central and South America and Africa. He and his wife, Ruth, pastored in Alaska for 25 years. During that time, they planted three churches, built Far North Bible College in Anchorage, where Donadio also served as president, and helped establish Teen Challenge in Alaska.
He also authored two books, “I should have Raised Pigs” and “Touch Me If You Dare,” which was an autobiography that includes stories about his life as a gang member in New York.
Both of Donadio’s children are graduates of Evangel — Doreen (Donadio ’93) Kelley and Rev. Dale Donadio ’90, as is Dale’s wife, Angela (Morris ’90) Donadio, and Doreen’s husband, Robert (’90). Robert Kelley also teaches in Evangel’s Bachelor of Business Administration degree completion program.