JUDITH M. O’DONNELL

A private family funeral and burial of the late Judith ‘Judy’ M. (Mcgrath) O’donnell, Antigonish, will be held in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Kings’s Cove, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland. A celebration of life for her and her husband, Jack, was held December 2 in St. Ninian Cathedral, Antigonish.

Mrs. O’donnell died November 19, 2018, in R.K. Macdonald Nursing Home, 25 days after the death of her husband.

She was a daughter of the late Kevin and Nita Mcgrath. She graduated from Mount Saint Bernard College, ST.F.X., in 1958. Following university, she worked for two years in adoption and foster home services in St. John’s, Newfoundland, with the Department of Welfare. She then moved to Spokane, Washington, where she worked in adoption and foster home services with Catholic Charities. In 1962, a little over a year after her marriage, she moved back to Nova Scotia, settling in Antigonish. In the early 1970s, she helped to establish a workshop for mentally challenged adults at CAMR (now CACL), eventually becoming program director. In 1976, realizing a need for residential services in the Antigonish area, she became the driving force behind the founding of a board of directors that would go on to establish L’arche Antigonish. She played a key role in founding the Antigonish Creative Dance Association, served on the Antigonish Recreation Commission, and worked with the former Nova Scotia Department of Recreation to found the Antigonish Town and County Arts & Crafts Association. She was also a member of St. Ninian’s Cathedral

Choir and was involved for many years with the Antigonish Town and County Food Bank. She enjoyed cooking, story telling and was a proud Newfoundlander. She also enjoyed and took care of the wildlife that frequently visited their home on the Mahoneys Beach Road.

She is survived by two sons, John (Nancy Larose), Cole Harbour; Christopher (Carrie Redpath), Prospect Bay; daughter, Lynn (Wayne Johnson), Malignant Cove, Antigonish County; seven grandchildren, Bridget, Clara,

Ella, Kathryn, Annie, Fiona, Jessica.

She was predeceased by her husband of 57 years, Jack O’donnell.

Memorial donations may be made to L’arche Antigonish or to the Antigonish Community Food Bank.

Online condolences: www.clcurry.com