John McDonnell

April 15, 1916 - November 2, 2010

John F. ‘Jack’ McDonnell of Mt. Vernon, VA, passed away on November 2, 2010 at a nursing center in Fairfax County following a lengthy illness. He was 94.

Jack was born in Peabody, Massachusetts on April 15, 1916, and was the son of Irish immigrants. A member of “The Greatest Generation,” he served during World War II in England with the 306th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force. Jack retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1964 and went on to a second career with the U.S. Naval Investigative Service.

Jack married Emma Meiller of Bryan, Texas in 1951 at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. Together they had six children, Governor Bob McDonnell, Nancy Naisawald, Eileen Reinaman, Colonel Kenneth McDonnell, MD, and Maureen Uncapher. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife in 1994 and son, Terrence in 1958. He is survived by 15 grandchildren.

A strong believer in education, he earned his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Education from the University of Maryland. He preached to his children the importance of a good education, and all of them graduated from college.

Col. McDonnell enjoyed life fully as a little league baseball coach, an active member of his local Catholic church, a charter member of the Mt. Vernon Knights of Columbus, a substitute teacher, a member of the Governor’s Board of Visitors of Mt. Vernon, and a life long Notre Dame and Maryland fan.

The family will receive friends at the Demaine Funeral Home, 520 South Washington Street, Alexandria, VA on Sunday, November 7, from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm where a prayer service will be held at 7 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 11 am at the Belvoir Chapel, 5950 12th Street, Ft. Belvoir, VA. He will be buried alongside his wife and son at Arlington National Cemetery at 9 am on January 27, 2011.

In lieu of flowers, friends may honor Col. McDonnell by contributing to the Emma and Jack McDonnell Memorial Scholarship Fund at Mount Vernon, PO Box 110

Mount Vernon, VA 22121.