News

Donald Long, Catholic philanthropist, dies

By Tony Staley
Compass Correspondent

GREEN BAY -- Donald J. Long, a generous supporter of the Catholic Church and the greater Green Bay community, died at home May 4 after a brief illness. He was 80.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 8, at Blaney Funeral Home, 1521 Shawano Ave., Green Bay. A parish wake service will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Visitation will continue from 9:30 a.m. Friday at St. Patrick Church, 211 N. Maple Ave. Bishop Robert Morneau will preside at the concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m.

Long, the oldest of nine children, was born Jan. 25, 1928, in Brillion to James and Bernadette (Rolf) Long. His father was a railroad switchman and his mother was a homemaker and seamstress.

The family moved to Green Bay, where he graduated from St. Patrick Grade School. He attended West High School until age 17 when he enlisted in the Navy, serving in 1945-46, and then earning a GED. He again served in the Korean Conflict in 1950-51 and 1952.

He and Darlene Doherty were married on June 14, 1952, and they raised their four children in Green Bay. He worked in sales until deciding to start his own company in 1958. The Longs sold their house and moved into an apartment. Two banks turned down his request for a loan before Jake Rose of Associated Bank approved it, said their son, D.J.

The company, Imperial Supply LLC, uses a network of four regional centers to distribute small maintenance items for the trucking industry. It was the first national parts distributor to automate order entry through barcode technology.

Long sold Imperial Supply in 2003 for $50 million, D.J. said.

Long was best known for his generous support of the community.

"Over the 20 years I have known him, Don's life was truly one of a generous steward who accepted God's gifts gratefully, cherished them, nurtured them and returned them in abundance," said Cindi Brawner, director of the Catholic Foundation for the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.

Long helped set up the foundation and from 1997 to 2004 served on its board, including as president. Over the years, he and his family have given millions of dollars and set up nine endowed funds - some anonymously - within the foundation, Brawner said.

Among named funds he helped establish are the Long Family Fund for Catholic Charity, the Notre Dame de la Baie Academy Endowment Fund, the St. Thomas More Catholic Education Endowment Fund, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral Fund, Affordable Housing Institute, Paul's Pantry Fund and St. Patrick Parish Endowment.

"He and Darlene have given a great deal of time, effort and money to make the Green Bay community and the Church of Green Bay a better place for everyone," Brawner said.

She recalled how "He encouraged me to 'just ask' when I was hesitating to share our story with those who may have intimidated me and once wrote a letter to two people asking them to consider making a $1 million commitment to the foundation - even though neither one had ever given to the diocese. He reminded me that all they could do was say, 'No.' They didn't give a million, but both made a gift," Brawner said.

"When I would wonder about asking someone for a major gift," Brawner said, "Don would tell me, 'They'll let you know if it's the right organization or the right time - you can't hurt anything by asking.'"

In 2003, the Long family established the Affordable Housing Institute of the Catholic Foundation for the Green Bay Diocese through a $1 million endowment. Its purpose is to find ways to make affordable home ownership a reality for more people.

Later that year, independent research underwritten by the institute found that the top low-income housing concerns in Brown County were a lack of affordable low-income housing, insufficient shelter space and inadequate use of rental vouchers.

In 2006 and 2007, the Affordable Housing Institute partnered with Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity to build homes for families.

D.J. said his father was an "extremely generous man. I always looked at him as passionate in everything he did. He was loyal, loving, caring, giving and a risk taker. He enjoyed the game, played hard, learned from his mistakes and he didn't repeat them."

Long championed education and served on the board of trustees of St. Norbert College, De Pere, from 1986 to 1996.

"Don made many contributions to St. Norbert College," said Norbertine Fr. Robert Finnegan, former treasurer for St. Norbert Abbey and now the Norbertines' international treasurer.

"He was a good advisor to the board and provided good leadership for the college," added Fr. Finnegan, who served with him as a trustee. "He was the type of person the college wanted and needed. I know that he also has helped one of the other abbeys in Europe."

In 2000, Long received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from St. Norbert College.

Long served with James Temp as general chairmen of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's first capital fund drive, which raised more than $2.5 million for scholarships, professorships and student housing. UWGB's Donald J. Long Sr. Residence Hall was built in 1989. He is a past vice president of the UWGB Founders Association and served on the University Village Housing Inc. board. In 1985 he received the UWGB Chancellor's Award.

In 1993, after seeing the Golden Apple Awards in Florida, he approached Green Bay businesses to sponsor the annual awards honoring excellence in teaching, said Robert Gallagher, former chairman and CEO of Associated Banc-Corp.

"He just cared about people," said Gallagher, who served with Long on the Green Bay Packers' board. Long and Gallagher also served on the boards of each other's companies.

In 1996 the Green Bay Chamber of Commerce presented him with the Daniel Whitney Award for establishing the Golden Apple Program.

An obituary prepared by the Long family explained his love of education this way: "Don truly believed a degree was a passport to the future and challenged the community to create a merger among the public and private school districts to form a mentor program. Through this challenge he touched the lives of students at all levels and in all corners of the community."

Gallagher called Long "a good leader in Green Bay, a model citizen, who supported a lot of causes. If there was something that needed to be done, he'd step up and get it done."

That included chairing the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the Brown County United Way, which in 1997 awarded him the William MacDonald Award for dedication to the community.

Among the other area causes he supported were the capital campaigns of St. Vincent, St, Mary's and Bellin hospitals; the Salvation Army and Kroc Center, Sybil Hopp School, Cerebral Palsy Center, New Community Shelter, Aspiro and the newest Brown County Library branches in Howard and De Pere.

"His everyday actions showed he would rather give than receive," D.J. said. That included making numerous anonymous donations.

"He loved that he didn't need the recognition," D.J. said. "He would give generously, anonymously, over and over. Every time I read in the Press-Gazette about an anonymous donation, I think, 'There's a chance it was Dad.'

"To me he was just Dad," D.J. said. "His behaviors, actions, words, I just took that as the way to be. It's not that we must give, but that we want to," D.J. said. He said the four Long children, "each in our own special way, play very different roles, yet very supportive roles in the community."

Long is survived by his wife, Darlene; their children and spouses, Cheri Long and Tom Dallman, Sue and Tom Olmsted, D.J. and Julie Long, Lori and Brad Hanus; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; sisters and brother and their spouses, Geraldine and Frank Pirman, Maureen and Roger Vaessen, Colleen Turnquist, Victor and Jayne Long, Kathy Long; many nieces and nephews.

Besides his parents, he was preceded in death by two sisters, Nancy Proctor and Patricia Peterson; a brother, Thomas Long; and two sisters-in-law, Marge Chriske and Fern Doherty.