OLD ORCHARD BEACH — Cornelia (Scannell) Donnellon, 86, of Lowell, Massachusetts, Wayne, New Jersey and Old Orchard Beach, died Wednesday, Dec. 3 at home in Erie, Pennsylvania, where she had lived since 2010.
She was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on Dec. 29, 1927, and was the daughter of Philip and Mary (Cooney) Scannell.
Cornelia graduated from Notre Dame Academy in Tynsboro, Massachusetts in 1945 and Trinity College in Washington, D.C. in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
She married Samuel Ruxton Donnellon Jr. in 1953.
While raising her family, she returned to school and earned her bachelor’s degree in math education from William Paterson University in 1976. Cornelia taught at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, New Jersey until her retirement in June of 1998.
She was preceded in death by: a son, Richard, in 1964; a daughter, Mary Cornelia, in 1998; her husband, Sam, in 2012; and brothers, Phillip, John, Robert and James Scannell.
She is survived by: her children, Kathleen and husband Bob Dziadzio of Saco, Samuel and wife Katie Donnellon of Haddonfield, New Jersey, Timothy and wife MaryPat Donnellon of Charleston, South Carolina and Frances and husband Michael Federici of Erie, Pennsylvania, with whom she lived; a son-in-law, William McGuire; her grandchildren, Ryanne, Timothy, Patrick, Laura, Sam and Will Donnellon, and Libby and Amy Federici; her sister, Mary Scannell Slattery of Old Orchard Beach; and her sister-in-law, Fusayo Scannell of Hawaii.
Cornelia was the proud aunt of 37 nieces and nephews.
Friends are invited to call on Monday, Dec. 8 from 5-8 p.m. at Brugger Funeral Homes & Crematory, 1595 West 38th St., Erie, PA 16508. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Luke Church, 421 East 38th St., Erie, PA 16504. Internment is private at Immaculate Cemetery in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Attn: Donor Relations & Services, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas, TX 75265. Condolences and photos may be sent at www.bruggerfuneralhomes.com.
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