Evelyn (McDonald) Donnell, 103, of St. Louis County, formerly of Crystal City, died Jan. 6, 2023, at the Fountains of West County where she had spent her retirement years. Mrs. Donnell grew up in Cape Girardeau and went to school on the Southeast Missouri State University campus, from first grade through a bachelor’s degree in education. She taught at several Missouri schools, including Hillsboro High School, where she met her future husband while he was serving in the U.S. Army. They were married after World War II and settled in Crystal City, where they raised five sons.
She was a longtime member of First United Methodist Church, where she taught Sunday School for 23 years and served on numerous work committees. She was active with various charitable organizations, including the Red Cross Blood Program, which she chaired, and was a 60-plus-year member of the P.E.O. Sisterhood, Chapters JA and GB. She was a substitute teacher and tutored elementary school students. She served on the Crystal City Board of Education, including a term as vice-president, and was honored both as the Twin City Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year and as Missouri Mother of the Year. She enjoyed reading and writing poetry and was an avid seamstress, sewing draperies, slipcovers and children’s clothes as well as her own and knitting countless sweaters, suits and coats. She and her husband enjoyed travel, touring the U.S. and abroad, including Cuba, Mexico, Europe, Russia and the Holy Land. She was the daughter of the late Judge James T. McDonald and Elizabeth Huntley McDonald.
She is survived by four sons, six grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. She was preceded in death by one son and four siblings: James H. McDonald, Dr. Joseph McDonald, Eugene F. McDonald M.D. and Elizabeth Mitter.
Visitation is scheduled from 11 a.m. until a funeral service at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, at Vinyard Funeral Home, 616 W. Main, in Festus, officiated by the Rev. Adam Kaul. A brief graveside ceremony will follow in Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens in Crystal City. Memorials may be made to the Salvation Army. Arrangements are under the direction of Vinyard Funeral Home.