While watching Carl Sagan's television miniseries Cosmos: A Personal Voyage in 1980, 11-year-old Brian Donehew became instantly fascinated with astronomy.

His family encouraged his new interest by buying him a telescope that he used for countless hours peering at the night sky, learning the planets and constellations.

After graduating from Madison High School, Donehew decided to forgo his passion for the stars after a school counselor suggested pursuing a degree in accounting, sister Julie Donehew said.

He worked as an accountant for just a few months and then decided to pursue his true passion, she said.

Donehew returned to college, this time focusing on physics. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees, he began teaching physics and mathematics at Palo Alto College and other schools in the Alamo Colleges system.

Students appreciated his ability to make difficult material easy to understand.

He was an empathetic teacher, in that he was really good at getting to your level and helping you understand what you're struggling with and how you can better understand it, his sister said.

Donehew died Nov. 17 of cardiac arrest. He was 43.

After earning his doctorate last year, Donehew taught physics and astronomy at the University of Tulsa before accepting his final teaching position at Ball State University.

Eventually, Donehew hoped to return to his home state and teach at Texas State University, where he earned his master's and which always held a special place in his heart.

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Professor Donehew loved astronomy