Maureen Constance Donnelly

Maureen Constance Donnelly, age 78, of Fairview, passed away on Monday, March 25, 2024, at Fairview Manor. 

She was born in Erie on January 15, 1946, and raised on Lighthouse Street on Erie’s East Side. Maureen was the daughter of the late Angela (née Sokolowski) and John Kordowski. Her parents were active in the vibrant immigrant Polish community, primarily through the arts and religious activities. Her father was an artist with Erie Lithograph & Printing. 

Maureen attended St. Ann’s School and graduated in 1963 from Villa Maria Academy. In 1967, she graduated from Villa Maria College becoming the first in her immediate family to earn a college degree. She studied elementary education, played basketball, made many good friends, and met the love of her life, John Thomas Donnelly, Jr of Meriden, CT who was attending Gannon College.

After marrying John Donnelly in the fall of 1967, she moved with her husband to West Germany where he was stationed with the U.S. Army. There she taught and had their first child, Brian. Upon return from Europe, she and John settled in Erie and eventually moved to Fairview in 1973 and had a second son, John.

Maureen had a long career as a school teacher and spent over 30 years at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church Nursery School teaching students and parents alike, alongside colleagues who became friends. 

Maureen was a lifetime and active member of the Holy Cross Catholic Church community and a loving neighbor and friend to many in Fairview. 

Over the years, Maureen has primarily enjoyed spending time with the people she called family, her friends, neighbors and fellow parishioners. She also has enjoyed volunteering with her husband at Fairview Presbyterian Church Food Pantry, spending time with core members of the local L’arche community, playing basketball with her son, dancing with her husband any chance she could, singing Polish lullabies to her two grandchildren and teaching them high-stakes card games.

Maureen is survived by her immediate family, including her husband of 57 years, John, their two sons, Brian and John, their spouses, Scott Ramsey and Meredith Williams-Donnelly, her grandchildren, Gavin and Gabriel, as well as close family friends who called her Grandma and Godmother. Maureen was deeply cherished not only by immediate family but also by close family friends who shared countless treasured memories and provided unwavering support throughout her life.  

Friends may call at Holy Cross Church, 7100 West Ridge Road, Fairview, on Friday, April 12th from 2pm-6pm. and are invited to attend a Funeral Mass there on Saturday, April 13th. At 10:00 a.m. A celebration of life will follow.

Memorials may be made to L’arche Erie Inc., Holy Cross Catholic Church, and Parkinson Partners of Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Arrangements are under the care of the Burton Quinn Scott Cremation and Funeral Services, West Ridge, 3801 W. 26^th Street, Erie, PA 16506. 

Send condolences at www.BurtonQuinnScott.com