Submitted by: Dan Rich

Mary Winifred Hanley O'Donnell

May 24, 1913 - Nov. 17, 2007

South Bend Tribune 11/25/2007
SOUTH BEND - Mary Winifred Hanley O'Donnell, Winnie, as she was affectionately known to her many friends, was born May 24, 1913 in Waterbury, Connecticut to James Leo and Dorothea (Sweeney) Hanley. She attended Fairfield High School, Fairfield, Connecticut and was a 1930 graduate of Roger Ludlow High School, Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1934, she graduated from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. where she competed in basketball and tennis and served as Class President.

She served as the Scribe for the Green Class of 1934 until her death. She went on to attend the Yale Drama School for two years and later earned a Masters Degree in speech therapy from Columbia University. Her Father, a Regional Superintendent of the Prudential Insurance Company, was a competitive skeet shooter. He was the perennial winner of the Connecticut State tournaments in several gauges and often competed in national events. Winnie inherited his competitive spirit and, like her father, was regularly the 16 gauge Connecticut State women's champion. In 1937 she won the North-South Shoot which afforded her the title of National Champion in the women's 16 gauge class. She repeated that feat in 1938. She set the world record for women in any gauge and for 16 gauge women shooters with a run of 143 straight. That record for women 16 gauge shooters, as best as can be determined, still stands today. One of her Trinity classmates wrote the following inscription in her yearbook: "To Winning Winnie," a phrase her family and friends all came to understand was intrinsic to her nature.

In 1938 she moved to South Bend when she was hired to teach English, Speech and Drama at St. Mary's College. In later years she marveled at the fact that, in those days, St. Mary's and South Bend were in different time zones. While there, she instituted the Drama Club and, under her direction, her students performed several plays including Our Town, a favorite of hers because there was very little work involved for set design or the props which she had to create. She and Sister Mary Madaleva became lifelong friends. In 1944 she taught classes in Public Speaking and Pulitzer Prize Plays at Indiana University South Bend-Mishawaka Center.

She became Mrs. Frank O'Donnell on October 14, 1939 in Stamford, Connecticut. He predeceased her along with her parents and her brother, Dr. James L. Hanley, Jr. She and Frank had three children, Dr. Frank H. (Rusty) O'Donnell of McLean, Virginia; James H. O'Donnell and Patricia M. Flynn of South Bend who survive along with her niece Susan (Joel) Kunkel of Trumbull, CT; her grandchildren, Sean O'Donnell and Liam (Jane) O'Donnell of Oakton, Va.; Barbara Alexander of Newport News, Va.; Kelly (Toomas) Sillaste of Fegersheim, France; Michael Flynn of Los Angeles, CA. and her great grandchildren Krista, Erik and Kaitlin Sillaste of Fegersheim; Allison Alexander of Manassas, Virginia; Bradley Alexander, also of Virginia and Patrick and Bridget O'Donnell of Oakton, Virginia. While at Trinity, Puddy exposed her to Miss Mary Virginia Merrick, the founder of The Christ Child Society so, in 1947, they established the South Bend Chapter with Puddy serving as the first President and Winnie as her Vice-President. Barbara Dillon and Jean Egan were the other charter members. She took up knitting to create layettes that the Society provided to hospitals to give to needy newborns. The good works of the Chapter continue to this day and, 60 years later, the Chapter has clothed over 125,000 children in St. Joseph County.

As her children grew Winnie made sweaters and other clothing to keep them warm during the winter. Her Aargyle socks period was not terribly popular with her children. She adorned walls and furniture in her home and the homes of her children with her needlepoint creations. Her husband was an avid golfer so, being the competitor that she was, she took up the game and it was not long until her skills surpassed his and she was winning the Women's Championships at the South Bend Country Club where she was a Past President of the Women's Golf League and at the Signal Point Club where she and Frank were charter members. In the late 1940's, she was informed by Ada Marker that a group of parents were instituting a school for their handicapped children in a house on Logan Street.

Answering their call, she became the first speech therapist at the original Logan School. She found it a profoundly rewarding experience as she was able to fully utilize the skills and talents she had honed at Columbia and was able to witness the tangible results of her efforts as her students went on to live fruitful lives. Often, some of her more challenged "students" came to her house for private sessions.

She provided speech therapy care for the late John Watson, golf professional at the South Bend Country Club, after he suffered a stroke. Winnie and Frank were members of the Indiana Club, Pickwick Club, University Club and Winnie was a member of Stitchery and the Junior League of South Bend. Always an avid reader, she served as President of the Women's Literary Club and always enjoyed presenting her book reports. The O'Donnell's, along with the (Jerry) Crowley's, the (Bob) O'Connor's, the (Clarence) Manion's, and several others were Father John Cavanaugh's "beta testers" for his Great Books program and he and Fr. Charles Sheedy, Paul Fenlon and Tom Stritch from the Arts and Letters faculty at Notre Dame were regular guests in her home.

She enjoyed cooking for and entertaining at the many football luncheons she and her husband hosted before Notre Dame home games. She was an avid follower and supporter of the football team and, after she stopped attending in person, she enjoyed watching them play on television as she nibbled on chocolates. She loved chocolate. After her husband died in 1983, she took up bridge and, as with every sport or game in which she participated, she became very competitive, playing in different groups several days a week. It was a very happy and proud day when she earned her first half of a Master Point. She enjoyed solving crossword puzzles and other word games so, of course, she was an avid fan of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. She always felt that people should push their intellect to whatever heights they could achieve.

The family would like to thank the very professional people from the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care of St. Joseph County, especially their Nurses and Certified Nursing Assistants for their kind and gentle care; Fathers John Riley, Paul Doyle and Paul Kollman for their spiritual care; and her primary care giver for her kind and loving attention.