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Bill Donahoe, Founder of the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band, Has Died

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E. William “Bill" Donahoe

Known among his fellow Dixieland jazz fans as “the Fastest Washboard in the East," Bill Donahoe died May 22nd in Lady Lake, Florida. He was 83 years old.

Introduced to the music of Bix Beiderbecke by his cousin, Mr. Donahoe became a passionate fan of the legendary cornetist. Beginning in 1965 and continuing through 1982, he and his wife Mary Cay nee Wadelton, hosted gatherings known as Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Stomps at their New Jersey home. Two hundred musicians, friends and jazz fans would gather, with a parade and jam sessions late into the night each Memorial Day weekend.

In 1971, the 40th Anniversary of Bix's death, Mr. Donahoe along with several notable musicians flew to Davenport, Iowa for “One Time Only" to play, in tribute, at Bix's grave. “One Time Only" turned into a fairly regular event, spawning not only the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Band (BBMJB) but also the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society, the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival and the annual Bix 7 Road Race. The BBMJB played at the Breda Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall and made regular appearances at the Bix Jazz Festival. The band's last appearance at the Bix Jazz Festival was in 2003, marking the 100th anniversary of Bix's birth, and was known as “One More Time."

Born April 4, 1928 in West Orange, New Jersey, to Elizabeth Semple and Eugene Donahoe, Mr. Donahoe graduated from Syracuse University, where he found life long friends among his Beta Theta Pi brothers. He served in the US Marine Corps during the Korean War era and retained a fierce alliance to the branch ever after. He married Mary Catherine Wadelton in 1958 and they had four daughters, Micaela Elizabeth Donahoe of San Francisco; Careth Drake Donahoe Daly, of Long Valley, New Jersey; Jamie Margaret Donahoe, currently living in Hong Kong; and Caitlin Camille Donahoe, also of Long Valley, New Jersey.

He worked in advertising, forming his own consulting business, Business to Business Direct Mail.

Losing his beloved Mary Cay in 1988, he was lucky to find love a second time and married Charlotte “Chickie" Caramanna nee Barzee in 1991. Bill and Chickie had 20 wonderful years together.

In addition to “his girls," Mr. Donahoe leaves behind two sons-in-law, W. Jason George and Timothy P. Daly; three granddaughters, Emily and Rylan Daly and Colleen George; four step-children, Wendy Abbe, John Caramanna, Tricia Johnson, and David Caramanna, and their families, including ten grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Society, P.O. Box 3688, Davenport, Iowa 52808 or The Alzheimer's Association, 378 Center Pointe Circle, Suite 1280, Altamonte Spring, FL 32701.

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