John Randolph Donnell (Ohio Epsilon, '31) Enters the Chapter Eternal

[PhiPsiRuss]

John R. Donnell II (Ohio Epsilon, '59) sent this to our ED, Shawn Collinsworth (Indiana Eta, '91.)

==========================================
Shawn,

My father died this morning at his summer home in Newport, Rhode Island. He was 92. He served as GP of his chapter and became a member of the S.C. in 1962. He was always proud that we could claim three generations of S.C. members, and all from the same chapter.

He served as a trustee of the Permanent Fund from 1970 to 1985.

I have attached a copy of the obituary that will be published in Findlay, Ohio.

Fraternally,

John...

==========================================
John Randolph Donnell, a long-time Findlay resident who retired as senior vice president and director of Marathon Oil Company in 1972, died at 5:35am on Wednesday, September 8, 2004 at his home in Newport, Rhode Island. He was 92 years old. In recent years he had divided his time between homes in Newport and in Palm Beach, Florida.

Mr. Donnell was born June 22, 1912 in Findlay, second of three sons born to Otto Dewey and Glenn McClelland Donnell. His father and his grandfather, James C. Donnell, both served as president of the Ohio Oil Company, renamed Marathon Oil Company in 1962, as did his elder brother, James C. Donnell II.

He attended Findlay city schools and received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University) in 1934. While there he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi social fraternity, and was elected to the Sigma Xi and Tau Beta Pi honorary fraternities.

Mr. Donnell joined the Ohio Oil Company on January 2, 1936 as special representative in the executive office. He was elected corporate treasurer in 1950, and in 1954 became a director and vice president in charge of supply and transportation. From 1961 until 1966, he was responsible for the company’s worldwide activities with the title of vice president, international operations. At his retirement he was Marathon’s senior vice president, finance and planning. He retained his interest in the oil industry throughout his retirement, and was a member of the American Petroleum Institute until his death.

Mr. Donnell was elected a director of the First National Bank of Findlay in 1939, and succeeded his father as chairman of the board in 1947, serving in that capacity until 1983. During his tenure, the bank’s assets grew from $6 million to $165 million. He was also a director of the Toledo Trust Company.

Long active in civic affairs, he was president of the Findlay Board of Education from 1944 until 1954, during which time four new elementary schools were built in the community. He also chaired the Hancock County War Finance Committee during World War II.

In 1955 he was elected chairman of the first campaign committee for the United Community Fund of Hancock County, and served simultaneously as general chairman of the building committee for the new First Presbyterian Church on South Main Street. He was also a past president of the Blanchard Valley Hospital Association and the Findlay Country Club. In 1982, he received a Distinguished Volunteer Award from the United Way of Hancock County in recognition of his leadership of its initial campaign.

Locally he was active in the Findlay Rotary Club, and was a third generation member of the Elks Lodge BPOE #75. He was also a founding member of the Findlay Skeet Club. In Toledo, he held memberships in the Belmont Country Club and the Toledo Club.

In 1954, he was elected to the board of Case Institute of Technology, and in 1967, to the board of its successor, Case Western Reserve University. He chaired the national alumni phase of a $17 million Case capital campaign in 1967, and the following year established the Donnell Institute Professorship to honor his father, Otto, and his son, John, Jr., both Case graduates. In 1995 he received the Case Gold Medal, highest award of the Case Alumni Association, for his service to the university and the community at large.

Mr. Donnell received honorary doctorates from Salem College in Salem, West Virginia, and from The University of Findlay.

Of all his interests, Mr. Donnell was most devoted to the Boy Scouts. Joining as a tenderfoot in 1924, he was president of the Put-Han-Sen Area Council from 1950 until 1952, chairman of the Region IV executive committee 1953-54, and a member of the National Executive Board from 1953 until 1982. He was awarded the Silver Antelope in 1949, the Silver Beaver in 1950, and the Silver Buffalo, the National Council’s highest honor, in 1958. In later years he was on the board of the World Scout Foundation, and was awarded the Bronze Wolf, the World Scout Organization’s highest honor, for his service.

Mr. Donnell married Margaret Louise Watt of Long Beach, California on February 1, 1939. Mrs. Donnell died in 1980. He married Maureen N. Caraboolad of Shaker Heights, Ohio, on July 31, 1981, and she survives, as do five children from his first marriage: John R., Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., Ann D. Davis of Tiburon, Calif., William W. of New York, N. Y., Thomas B. of Findlay, and Richard H. of Topsham, Me.

He also leaves three stepsons, Richard and Michael Caraboolad of Cleveland, and Geoffrey Caraboolad of Boston, Mass., six grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. A stepdaughter, Nancy Caraboolad Hayes, and his brothers, James and Dewey, preceded him in death.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, September 18 at the First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. John W. Wurster officiating. Burial will be in Maple Grove Cemetery. There will be no visitation.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the Boy Scouts of America, Black Swamp Area Council, 2100 Broad Avenue, Findlay, or The Society of the Four Arts, 2 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach, Florida, 33480. The Kirkpatrick-Behnke Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.