Dr. Robert Francis Donley

Dr. Robert F. Donley, a well known neurosurgeon of Duluth, MN passed away on March 12, 2025.

Dr. Donley was educated at St. Charles Preparatory School in Columbus, Ohio; University of Dayton undergraduate, where he played varsity football; and medical school at The Ohio State University. Following medical school, Dr. Donley interned at Cornell and was a resident at the Mayo Clinic. While at the Mayo he spent time researching cerebral blood flow and the use of decadron. In 1969/70 he spent a year on a hospital ship, USS Repose, performing trauma neurosurgery for the US Navy in Viet Nam. Dr. Donley commenced his Duluth neurosurgical practice in 1974 at the Duluth Clinic, where he specialized in stereotactic brain surgery. He practiced for nearly 40 years, retiring in 2013.

When he joined the Duluth Clinic, Dr. Donley was one of Duluth’s first neurosurgeons. He served five years as the Chairman of Neurosurgery at the Duluth Clinic and was Chief of Neurosurgery at SMDC starting in 1981. Dr. Donley served as clinical assistant professor at the UMD Medical School and was a member of numerous professional academies and societies of the State of Minnesota and The Mayo Clinic. In 2005 Dr. Donley was named The Physician of the Year at the Duluth Clinic.

Dr. Donley was held in the greatest esteem by his patients and colleagues. He received the highest possible honor for patient satisfaction among neurosurgeons nationwide in a survey conducted by Professional Research Consultants, Inc. Consistent with his overall modesty, Dr. Donley credited colleagues and administrators for their assistance in connection with his national honors.

Always a scholar, Dr. Donley continued to educate himself after retirement with the latest professional literature. He could be counted on to explain to all his friends the most intricate and complex parts of neurosurgery in understandable terms.

Recreationally, Dr. Donley enjoyed an informal ice hockey league (“Hockey Docs”), playing golf with his friends and being outdoors in nature. He was an avid and accomplished fisherman. Of particular enjoyment to him were his days at South Knife Lake, in northern Manitoba, where he caught and released numerous trophy lake and brook trout.

In addition to professional organizations, Dr. Donley was a member of Northland Country Club, The Kitchi Gammi Club and Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

He is survived by a brother, Dr. James Donley; twin sister, Julie Villani; spouse, Elizabeth Donley; and children, Erik Donley, Meghan Kimber (Ken), Anne Donley (Greg Berlind), and Kristin Hill (Chris); and seven grandchildren, Lillian, Karl, Aleta, Kristian (Kimber), Harriet, Louisa, Charlotte (Hill).

A Visitation will be held from 4pm – 7pm on Monday, March 17, 2025 with a Time of Sharing at 6pm at Dougherty Funeral Home, 600 E. Second Street, Duluth. The Visitation will continue at 10am on Tuesday, March 18th at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 802 Maple Grove Rd, Duluth until the 11am Funeral Service. A Reception will be held following the Service at the Kitchi Gammi Club, 831 E Superior St, Duluth. Burial will take place at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Saginaw at a later date.

The Service will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@shepherdofthehillslutheran8039

Memorials preferred to SMDC Foundation (Essentia Health - St. Mary's Medical Center), 402 E. 2nd Street, Duluth, MN 55805 or the Solvay Hospice House of Duluth.

Arrangements by Dougherty Funeral Home 218-727-3555.