Friends, family mourn Rohnert Park woman, cousin killed in Berkeley balcony collapse

Friends, family and even complete strangers came from the wider Bay Area and the other side of the Atlantic Ocean to pay tribute Saturday to Ashley Donohoe and Olivia Burke, two cousins whose lives were cut short when the Berkeley balcony they were standing on collapsed early Tuesday.

“I feel as if everything has been taken away,” said Donohoe’s mother, Jackie Donohoe of Rohnert Park, following a Mass in Cotati and a celebration of both women’s lives at Sonoma State University. “This should never have happened. These were all good kids. We’ve lost not just a daughter but a niece.”

Donohoe’s father, George Donohoe, and Burke’s mother, Paula Burke, are brother and sister.

The balcony collapse - believed to have been caused by rotten beams - sent 13 people plummeting about 50 feet to the pavement below. Six died, including Donohoe, 22, a Rancho Cotate High School graduate and student at Sonoma State University, and her cousin, Burke, 21. Other than Donohoe, who was a dual Irish and U.S. citizen, the other five people who died were all 21-year-olds from Ireland, in the Bay Area to work summer jobs.

Donohoe and Burke’s families were very close, and the two women in particular were dear friends, their family said. They were described as “like twins,” with Donohoe traveling more than 20 times across the ocean to visit her cousin. Since Burke arrived for the summer to live in Berkeley and work on a J-1 visa, Donohoe had already visited several times.

Donohoe must have just arrived at the Berkeley apartment to attend a 21st birthday party when the balcony gave out, Jackie Donohoe said, adding that her daughter had driven down after a long day of work.

“They died together,” said George Donohoe. “At the end, they were side by side.”

He and his wife said they were “tired, exhausted and emotionally wrecked” from a week spent dealing with the unthinkable.

“This should never happen again,” Jackie Donohoe said. “I’d hate for any family to go through what we’ve gone through.”

The crowd that packed St. Joseph Catholic Church in Cotati for a memorial Mass on Saturday morning was large and diverse, reflecting the multifaceted lives both women led and the way the seemingly senseless loss of youths in their prime tore at the hearts of people across the Bay Area and beyond.

The Irish Consulate brought busloads of young Irish people and others from Berkeley. Mourners included priests from around the Bay Area and Ireland; the president of the San Jose-Dublin sister city program; Ireland’s ambassador to the U.S.; and, reportedly, a Berkeley police officer who responded to the incident.

Those who knew and loved Donohoe personally made up the majority of the crowd, including the priest who baptized her at St. Joseph; her co-workers at Oliver’s Market; classmates from Rancho Cotate High School, Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University; soccer teammates from the Rancho Cotate and Petaluma United teams; and family friends.

At the celebration following the Mass, they recounted how Donohoe had affected local lives with her cheerful, adventurous outlook and considerate spirit.

“(Ashley and Olivia’s) personalities, you just can’t even describe how contagious they were,” said Amanda Donohoe, Ashley’s younger sister. “When they were happy, everyone wanted to be happy with them. When they were upset, pretty much the whole world wanted to murder whoever made them feel that way.”

She added, “Although their lives were cut short in a tragic, tragic way, they lived oddly, weirdly full lives.”

Before she died, Donohoe worked two jobs, was studying biology at SSU and SRJC, and had an internship with the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office, where she was pursuing a career in forensics. She also had been a talented soccer player at Rancho Cotate High School and with Petaluma United. Later, she volunteered as an assistant coach at Rancho Cotate and became a valued mentor to many players.

Donohoe also made time to be with friends and have fun. She went water-tubing with one friend until their knuckles bled. She fearlessly dove off a precipice when all her other friends were afraid to bungee jump, calling, “See you later, bitches” as she fell. She baked dozens of chocolate chip cookies with a friend who needed company after he got his wisdom teeth pulled. She was always at the side of her lifelong friend, Michael Jensen, as he was treated for cancer, visiting him as recently as last Sunday.

“I never thought I’d have to be here,” he said. “This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“She was my best friend - the kindest, most caring, most hard-working person you’ve ever met. And boy, would she be pissed that I’m crying right now,” he added.

Numerous people spoke about how Donohoe had befriended them at a time in their lives when they felt awkward or alone.

“She was my friend when I didn’t have many friends and that meant a lot,” one young woman said.

“She just had a special gift, the personality she had,” George Donohoe said.

He and his wife, both from Ireland, said the outpouring of community support had helped them survive the past week despite being an ocean away from much of their family.

“These people are like our family,” Jackie Donohoe said of their friends and neighbors. “We just never could have gotten through the week without our friends.”

They also expressed gratitude to numerous businesses and organizations that helped out.

Sonoma State University hosted the celebration of life while the Irish Consulate paid for the food and Oliver’s Market, where Donohoe worked, chipped in. The Irish airline Aer Lingus made room on a full flight for Donohoe’s family so they could travel on Sunday to Ireland, where Olivia Burke will be buried.

There, they will continue to come to terms with the loss of their daughter and niece.

“It’s going to be one day at a time,” George Donohoe said. “It’s uncharted territory for us. Nobody plans for this. No parent should have to bury their child.”

You can reach Staff Writer Jamie Hansen at 521-5205 or jamie.hansen@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jamiehansen.