Richard Paul Donner

Richard Paul Donner, LSCSW, Ph.D., 73, of Topeka, Kansas, passed away Tuesday, January 24, 2023.

He was born December 5, 1949, in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, the son of Harry and Jean (Couch) Donner.

Richard received a Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin in 1972. In 1978 he graduated with a Master's degree from the University of Kansas, School of Social Welfare. He later obtained a Doctorate in Social Work from the University of Kansas in 1994. His dissertation was on the experience of parents of children with emotional problems.

Richard was a wealth of knowledge and held various jobs throughout his long career. Up until his passing, he was a private clinical social worker specializing in adults and adolescents, and their families, with issues of depression, trauma, HIV, sexual orientation, chemical dependency, relationship issues and/or school/work problems. He also was a clinical therapist for elderly patients providing assessment, consultation, and individual and group therapy at the Heritage Program at Wamego City Hospital.

He started his career in 1972 as a social worker in the adult ward at Osawatomie State Hospital. From 1973 to 1976, Richard was a social worker and Cottage Coordinator in Topeka with the Kansas Youth Center. From 1976 to 1985, he was a therapist with Community Addictive Treatment Center. In June of 1978, Richard accepted the position of Division Manager at H.A.R.T.S. Program (Holistic Adolescent Residential Treatment Services) until 1984. From 1984 to 1987, he worked as a social worker for Emergency Services through Shawnee Community Mental Health Center.

From 1996 to 1998, he was Director of Individualized Services for the Eastfield Ming Quong Children and Family Services in California. There he helped develop the program from a pilot project to a full-fledged program serving over 100 families throughout the county. This program has been utilized as the model for systems of care in California. Later in 1998, Richard obtained the title of Associate Director of the Family Partnership Institute. From 2002 to 2008, he was Assistant Professor with Washburn University. There he taught for both the bachelor's and master's programs, and was Chair of the Social Worker Policy Committee, faculty advisor, and member of the Advisory Board.

He was also Director of Kansas Outpatient Services and Clinical Supervisor of KVC Behavioral Health in Olathe from 2008 until 2011.

Richard's legacy is to all of his clinical work with others during his career and life. He was a pioneer of the family movement and influencer, trainer, strategist and designer of all things wraparound having to do with children and families.

Richard served on the board of Topeka Aids Project. He was also a founding member and served on the board of Keys for Networking, Inc., a nonprofit whose mission is to help parents with answers to questions and to make them better parents.

Richard performed training programs to social workers across the United States, providing training for other professionals and providers on how to wrap around services for children and families. He also trained case managers on how to be better case managers.

Richard is survived by his loving friend Gelman Alfredo Barrios. He is also survived by three brothers and a sister: Jack Donner (Jan) of Boerne, Texas; Charlie Donner of Frisco, Texas; Kathy Donner (Claudia) of Salt Lake City, Utah; and James Donner of South Jordan, Utah; and numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his three loving pets Delilah, Samson and Gucci.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at First Congregational Church, Topeka.

Memorial contributions may be made to Braided Haven, Inc. 1701 SW Collins Ave Topeka, Kansas 66604. Braided Haven is a 501C3 charitable organization to help LGBTQ kids and young adults who might need services, referrals, or housing.

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