Marcella Donovan Perry. Alfred Cheney Johnston.

“James G. Donovan was the city attorney for an area of Houston known as Houston Heights before it was annexed by Houston. Donovan founded, together with his daughter, Marcella, a financial institution that became known as Heights Savings. In 24 years, its assets went from nothing to $100,000,000.00. Marcella Donovan, now Marcella Perry, emerged as one of Houston’s civic leaders.”
© celticowboy.com/20THTX.htm

“The Donovan’s only child, Marcella graduated from Heights High in 1922, went to
New York, auditioned, and was accepted as a specialty dancer starring with the
Greenwich Village Follies, as shown above. Her mother had to sign the contract
because… “
© Houston Heights

“Initially she (Patsy Swayze) studied with Marcella Donovan Perry, the formidable ballerina and Broadway dancer who infused both style and discipline into her dancing. By the time Patrick was born, Patsy was already well established as Houston’s premiere dance teacher and choreographer. A liberated woman far ahead of her time, she founded and directed the acclaimed Houston Jazz Ballet Company, helped to develop Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, choreographed countless musicals, and ran her own dance company and dance studio, where she taught ballet, tap, and jazz to generations of students, including Patrick.”
© Patrick Swayze: “One Last Dance”