Gloria Dell McDonnell, of Clinton, passed away peacefully on June 26, 2022, at age 95. The visitation to celebrate Gloria’s life will take place at Prince of Peace Catholic Church from 9:30 until 11:00 AM on Thursday, June 30, 2022. A Mass of Christian Burial will immediately follow the visitation. A luncheon will be served at the parish hall following the Mass. Pallbearers will be Christopher McDonnell, Lucas McDonnell, Jessica McDonnell, Kate Sager, Eugene Peart, Maggie Stafford, Michael Monroe, and Elizabeth Weekly. Burial will be a later date in St. Irenaeus Calvary Cemetery.
Gloria was born on February 9, 1927, in Savanna, Illinois to her parents Sherwood and Mae L. (Elliott) Barth. Gloria met her husband Eugene J. McDonnell while attending a Savanna High School versus Lyons High School basketball game. They would be married two years later after she finished high school and graduated from Sterling School of Beauty. They went on to have three children: Steven McDonnell, Nancy (William) Peart of Clinton and Deborah (J.C.) Monroe of DeWitt. Those left to cherish her memory include eight grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Gloria was a loving daughter, wife, mother and grandmother who loved reading, Hawkeye basketball and football, crossword puzzles and cooking delicious large family meals. She was known for her delicious pies and her sense of humor by her friends and family. She will be dearly missed. She was preceded in death by her husband; her son, Steve; a granddaughter, Laciana; a great grandson, Micha, and two sisters, Erma and Berness. Memorials may be made to Prince of Peace Catholic Education Foundation, Nancy Peart Scholarship Fund.
