Donya Ann Powers, M.D., of Providence, RI, passed away on the evening of May 19 in the company of close friends at Memorial Hospital. She was a graduate of Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine, and spent her entire professional career serving the needs of patients in the greater Providence region through her family-medicine practice. She is survived by her brother and sister-in-law, Michael R. and Imelda Y. Powers of Beijing, China; her nephews, Thomas Y. Powers of San Francisco and Andrew Y. Powers of Providence; and many friends in the Brown University and greater Providence communities.
Donya Powers was born in Wilkinsburg, PA on February 27, 1958, and graduated from Dover-Sherborn High School in Dover, MA in 1976. Accepted into Brown University’s Program in Liberal Medical Education, she received her B.A. in biomedical ethics and biology in 1980, and her M.D. in 1983. She continued her education in Brown’s family medicine residency, completing the program and attaining board certification in 1986. She was awarded Fellowship of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) in 1994. Following her residency, Donya began a solo practice in Seekonk, MA, doing full-spectrum family medicine, including hospital care and delivering babies. The practice moved to East Providence, RI in 1992 and to Pawtucket, RI in 2007. She held a number of hospital appointments, including terms as chair of family practice and medical staff president at Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, MA. She also served as a part-time medical director for Hospice of CVNA in Attleboro, MA.
Donya was a clinical associate professor of family medicine at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, where she received a number of teaching awards from the university and its family medicine residency. She served on the AAFP’s Commission on Science, helping to develop official clinical recommendations and guidelines, as well as planning national continuing medical-education programs for family physicians. Donya especially enjoyed the ability to make international contributions through her profession. She was a member of the AAFP’s National Research Network, and presented original clinical research at the World Family Medicine meetings in many countries. She also served as a volunteer with the AAFP Foundation’s “Physicians with Heart” program, traveling to Tajikistan (2007), Kyrgyzstan (2008, 2011), and the Republic of Georgia (2009) to deliver humanitarian aid to local hospitals and lead educational sessions for local family physicians.
Friends and family members recall Donya’s love of travel, photography, cooking, and ballroom dancing. She also was an avid reader of both mystery and science fiction stories. A long-time resident of the East Side, she lived most recently on Observatory Avenue with her two adorable Boston terriers, Steed and Emma Peel, to whom she was entirely devoted.
A funeral service will be held Saturday, May 27, at 10 a.m. in the Providence Presbyterian Church, 500 Hope Street, followed by a private burial ceremony in Dover, MA. Visiting hours Friday, May 26 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Thomas & Walter Quinn Funeral Home, 2435 Warwick Avenue, Warwick.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Foundation, 11400 Tomahawk Creek Parkway, Suite 440, Leawood, KS 66211-2672. More extensive information on Donya’s life and career is available at www.thequinnfuneralhome.com
