Katherine "Kay" McDonnell

May 26, 1939 - April 17, 2021

Katherine Ann McDonnell (aka Kay) passed away peacefully (cared for by nurses who knew and loved her well) at the Community Hospice and Palliative Care Bailey Center on April 17, 2021, at the age of 81. She was surrounded by her three children, her only daughter-in-law, her honorary daughter, and three of her many cherished grandchildren.        Kay was preceded in death by her parents, James and Kathleen McArdle, and by her beloved husband and Prince Charming, Gregory William McDonnell of 23 years.       Kay was born on May 26, 1939, to Irish immigrant parents James and Kathleen McArdle. She and her brother James McArdle grew up in New York City, but spent idyllic summers at their country cottage in Putnam Lake in Patterson, NY.       She completed 14 formal years of education, attending St. Ignatius Grammar School and graduating high school from Dominican Academy in NYC. High school were defining years for Kay. She was class president in her junior and senior years and a member of the Debating Team, Drama Club, Basketball Team, Glee Club, and Yearbook Committee. After HS graduation, she attended Grace Secretarial School. In 1958, she joined IBM as a typist/transcriber.      Kay was proud of her professional achievements, most notably as the Editor of The Record (an IBM Corporation publication), as IBM’s loaned executive to both the Denver United Way and to Gallaudet University’s Center on Deafness and was a successful realtor as well. Kay won numerous awards during her career. For over fifty years, Kay advocated for the deaf. In the latter part of her life, she volunteered at the Community Hospice and Palliative Care Bailey Center, with her therapy dog Ceili by her side, bringing compassion and emotional support to patients and staff alike.  While Kay spent most of her life working, first and foremost, Kay raised a family as a single mother, giving her children the very best that she had. She loved people and had many, many lifelong friends. With an extraordinary gift for making others feel valued, Kay never knew a stranger.      Intensely interested in current events and politics, Kay never missed the daily news or voting in an election. She passed down to her children and grandchildren alike her great patriotism and democratic values, her sense of civic duty, and her love for the United States of America. While she was very American, she was also fiercely proud of her Irish heritage, often reminding her children to never forget that they were Irish. In fact, Kay held dual citizenship in both America and Ireland.      Her hands produced magic upon her Chickering baby grand piano, which survived numerous cross country moves, remaining miraculously tunable. She had a musical gift that lifted the hearts of those she loved.      Pieces of Kay’s heart resided in Colorado, Montana, and Virginia, but the place she called home was her beloved city St. Augustine, where she and her husband Greg lived happily for many years. Kay is survived by her blended family of eight adult children: Daughter Elizabeth Hogenson (David), Wilsall, MT; Son Daniel Fitzgerald (Darryl), Montclair, VA; Son Kevin Fitzgerald of Springfield, VA; Son Gregory McDonnell, San Diego, CA; Daughters: Ann Marie Damianos, Cambridge, MA; Maryellen McDonnell, Sterling, VA; Jane Flagg (Robert), Great Falls, VA; Margaret Kelly (Keith), Arlington, VA. Kay was a proud and loving grandparent to 28 grandchildren and to 18 great-grandchildren. (In fact, passed away on the same day that her 18th great-grandchild was born.) A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 10:00am on June 12, 2021, at St. Benedict Moor Mission Church, 86 ML King Ave. St. Augustine, FL 32084 with details regarding the Celebration of Life to follow. Flowers are gratefully declined, but Memorial donations may be made in Kay McDonnell’s honor to the Community Hospice Bailey Center, 400 Health Park Blvd, St. Augustine, FL 32086 or to S.A.F.E. Pet Rescue, Inc., P.O. Box 840215, St. Augustine, FL 32080.