Obituary of John J. Donnelly

He was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 30, 1943, the son of the late Michael and Della (Coyne) Donnelly.

Jack was a devout Catholic and faithful parishioner of St. John Vainney Church.  He was a dedicated philanthropist and gave generously of himself to those in need.  

Survivors include his beloved wife of 55 years,  Kathryn A. Donnelly (nee Stanbach) of Gladwyne;

son, John J. (& Colleen) Donnelly, Jr. of Haddon Twp., NJ; 

daughter, Victoria (& Lance) McCue of Malvern;

son, Michael (& Katrina) Donnelly of Berwyn; 

daughter, Mary (& David) Marchese of Audubon;

two sisters, Patricia Fazio of Jeffersonville and Margaret Donnelly of Kennett Square;

as well as eleven grandchildren, Christopher, Andrew, Nicole, Sean, Morgan, Leigh, Catriona, Bridget, Aidan, Carter, and Riley.

His Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, June 15, 2020 at 10:30 AM in St. John Vianney Church, 350 Conshohocken State Road, Gladwyne, PA 19035.

Relatives and friends are invited to the viewing on Sunday, June 14, 2020 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Moore, Snear & Ruggiero Funeral Home, 300 Fayette Street, Conshohocken, PA 19428 and on Monday morning from 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM at the Church.   

Interment will take place in Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.  

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Independence Mission Schools, PO Box 37012, Philadelphia, PA 19122.  

The Donnelly family would like to share the following with you: 

The world lost a wonderful man. Not just because he was our dad but because he was family to so many. A man who was the youngest of three children of Irish immigrants. A man who came from nothing and sought everything. A man intelligent, quiet, private, and peaceful. A man who rose to the top and never stopped giving back. Never forgetting where he came from and vocal about how blessed he was. A man who would not want to be paraded in a horse drawn carriage or placed in a gold casket, but a man who would ask you to pound the pavement, not in protest, but with your talents and gifts that you too, are blessed with. Give back to those who have not, be an example, a mentor. Place yourself in a position of feeling awkward. With that comes a feeling of pride and satisfaction and knowing at the end of your life you did what you should, could and regret nothing.

Jack never stopped pounding the pavement. Supporting even those politicians that were not on his side of the scale be it left or right but wanted the same moral outcome.

* Received the Medal of Honor from the Pope

* CMFA Philadelphia Chapter 2015 Construction Executive of the Year

* 2016 Honoree of the American Cancer Research Association

* CHOP Research

* Honoree of the year by the Boy Scouts of America

* Drexel University BHS Civil Engineering, Member of Drexel 100 and in 2005 Drexel University Hall of Fame inductee

* Past Board member Moore College of Art

* Past Owner & CEO, L.F. Driscoll Co. where he worked for almost four decades.

* Past President, Philadelphia Chapter of Legatus

* Purchasing Management Association of Philadelphia

* Cross Keys Fraternity of Philadelphia

* Past Board of Trustees, Our Lady of Lourdes Health Care Services;

* Member Central Philadelphia Development Corp.

* Member, Carpenters’ Company of the City and County of Philadelphia

* Philanthropist

The list goes on and on, but these accolades were not what was important to him.

Supporting communities in need. First, he began by assisting the management of construction, far from home, in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. It led to his mission at home in Philadelphia the Independent Mission Schools (IMS), some of the archdiocese’s poorest inner-city schools.

“The Independence Mission Schools effort has been more than innovative, it’s been vital to keeping Catholic education alive in Philadelphia’s economically challenged communities,” Archbishop Chaput told Legatus magazine. “Jack Donnelly, James Broussard, and Bill Curtis have shown extraordinary leadership matched only by their generosity.”

Led by our father, John Donnelly, he served on the 15-member board of this nonprofit organization that the archdiocese entrusted with managing 15 elementary schools enrolling some 4,000 students — two-thirds of them non-Catholics.

He was a fearless leader who took LF Driscoll to new levels during his tenure of almost four decades. Jack started his career in construction at Irwin & Leighton Construction and came to LF Driscoll in 1979 ironically with the attraction to work for a smaller construction firm. During his time here, Jack was instrumental in developing the innovative Construction Management approach as opposed to the self-perform General Contracting method. Under his leadership, the company grew to be one of the largest and most respected construction firms in Philadelphia. In 1994, Jack became majority Owner of LF Driscoll. In 2009, he sold the company to Structure Tone.

Jack was an amazing and respected preconstruction leader and developed long standing and trusted relationships with his clients. With his determined drive, the company reached new heights and built some of the most significant projects in the Philadelphia region’s history and elsewhere.  He was a significant instrument in changing the skyline in Philadelphia.

Rest in Peace dad, you made us so proud you made us strong. We will love you and attempt to follow in those big shoes for the rest of our days.  We could only hope to be half the person you were, then we too, will have fulfilled a greater mission.