CDR Richard O’Donnell

The life of my father, Richard J. (Dick) O'Donnell, Sr. was marked by Service to God, Country, Family, and his fellow man. He worked diligently his entire life bringing the Message of Jesus Christ and the Gospel to his family and those with whom he served. He served in the United States Army Air Corps as a navigator during WWII. After WWII he went to college at Gonzaga University, graduating in 1953 with a degree in Education.

He then served in the United States Navy as an engineering officer from 1953 to 1976. There were no chaplains on the vessels on which he served so he would lead the crews in Sunday Services while at sea. He retired from the Navy in 1976 at the rank of Commander and served the remainder of his life as a Deacon at Catholic churches in the Wheeling-Charleston and Covington Kentucky Diocese from 1979 to 2009.

(Submitted by Joseph O’Donnell)