Arnold E. Donahue, security and government affairs expert and 21-year member of NPC

Arnold E. Donahue, a security and government affairs expert and a 21-year member of the NPC, died Jan. 8 at Georgetown University Hospital of congestive heart failure. He was 78.

Family and friends will be celebrating Arnold's life at a memorial service to be held on Friday, Jan. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Devol Funeral Home, 2222 Wisconsin Ave., N.W., in Washington, DC. Complementary valet parking is available. A funeral service will be held on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Georgetown.

"My dad made a lot of friends at the Press Club," said Donahue's son, Ryan. "He loved having lunch at the Club." He said his father was a devoted Catholic who took great pride in Georgetown University, where he worked as a library volunteer after retiring.

Born in Neenah, Wis., Donahue earned a bachelor of arts degree in history at Georgetown University in 1960 and a master of public administration degree from Princeton University in 1962. After working for the CIA in the mid-1960s, he went to work for the Office of Management and Budget, where he became chief of the intelligence unit in OMB's national security division.

Upon his retirement from OMB in 1994, he received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Meritorious Civilian Service and the Intelligence Community Seal Medallion.

In 1994, Donahue joined the National Academy of Public Administration, where he was a project director until 2006. He directed studies of government administration, including post 9/11 changes at the FBI. He participated in seminars on intelligence command and control at Harvard University and in 1996 established his own consultant company, Pactrade.

He was a long-time resident of Georgetown.

Survivors include three sons, Neil, Ryan and Ray, and four grandchildren.