Patricia M. O’Donnell

PORTLAND – Pat O’Donnell, loving mother and grandmother, devoted friend, and passionate champion of Portland’s public parks passed away peacefully at The Cedars in Portland on May 23, 2026. She was 77.

A nearly lifelong resident of Portland, she was born at Mercy Hospital on Jan. 22, 1949, the only child of James and Anna Lynch. She attended Portland parochial and later public schools, graduating from Portland High School in 1967. Pat recounted she was shy in her youth, a fact which may surprise those who met the vibrant, energetic, and outgoing woman she became as an adult.

Unlike her children, Pat excelled at math, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in the subject from the University of Portland-Gorham in 1971. She utilized her mathematical aptitude throughout her life both personally and professionally, perhaps most joyfully as the Treasurer of Friends of Congress Square Park, an organization she fully committed herself to for years.

Pat’s involvement with Congress Square Park began in 2013 after the City Council voted to sell half of the park to the Eastland Hotel for the construction of a ballroom. As a nearby resident of Cumberland Avenue, she banded together with other concerned citizens to form Friends of Congress Square Park, a non-profit dedicated to saving the park for public use. After a lengthy legal dispute with the City of Portland that went all the way to Maine’s Supreme Court, Pat and Friends of Congress Square Park successfully saved the park from development while making the sale of dozens of other parks much more difficult. The vitality of Portland’s parks, especially the tiny but mighty Congress Square Park, is a testament to her legacy.

Prior to her activism with Friends of Congress Square Park, Pat worked for over 20 years at the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, first as a food stamps eligibility specialist and later advocating on behalf of children as a child support enforcement agent. In addition to the important work she did while employed for the Department, she made many cherished lifelong friends there, including Kathy Reilly, Heidi Johnson, and Kathy LeBreton.

Pat had a sense of adventure and relished the opportunity to visit her daughter, Bernie, wherever she happened to be living, including a particularly memorable trip to rural China where she was treated as a celebrity, serving as the guest of honor at several outings and dinners. She also spoke fondly of a solo cross-country road trip to Montana, stopping to see Yellowstone National Park and South Dakota’s famed Corn Palace along the way.

Above all, Pat was known for her kindness and her positivity (in addition to an astounding array of colorful hats and bags). She was always willing to pitch-in and lend a hand, even when her health problems made doing so more difficult. She wasn’t one to make a fuss or complain. In the face of a devastating diagnosis – the return of breast cancer in an advanced, metastatic form – Pat never expressed angst or fear. She instead repeatedly said in her characteristically straightforward manner: “I have had a wonderful life. I’ve got two great kids. I’ve got no complaints.” Her steady composure in the last weeks of her life will continue to serve as an inspiration to those who knew her well into the future.

She is survived by her son, Sean O’Donnell and his wife Terri of Old Orchard Beach; a daughter, Bernadette O’Donnell of New York City; a grandson, Evan O’Donnell and his wife Bethany of Harpswell; her friend and former husband, Tom O’Donnell of Portland, and numerous friends and neighbors.

A funeral mass will be held at Sacred Heart Parish on Wednesday, June 3, at 10 a.m. A celebration of life will be held at Congress Square Park on Wednesday, June 3, at 4 p.m. with a rain date of Thursday, June 4, at 2 p.m. For updates on Pat’s celebration of life and to RSVP, please go to https://everloved.com/life-of/pat-odonnell/.

Special thanks to the dozens of caring and dedicated staff at Maine Medical Center and The Cedars who treated Pat during the last month of her life and to Hospice of Southern Maine.

Donations in Pat’s memory may be made to Friends of Congress Square Park at https://congresssquarepark.org/donation/ and Friends of Deering Oaks Park at https://www.deeringoaks.org/donate.