Jack was born, at home, in Naugatuck CT, on September 16, 1920, to John E. Sr. and Josephine M. (Crowe) O’Donnell.  He died at the Andwell Hospice House in Auburn, ME on March 12, 2026, age 105.5.

Jack had a classic New England childhood, walking everywhere, working on a local farm, attending public schools, and driving his aunt’s Hudson in his early teens.  He graduated from Naugatuck High School in 1939, and attended Dartmouth College, Class of 1943.  He and all of his classmates were awarded their degrees in December 1942, in order to join the war effort.  Jack served at Bradley Field, the Pentagon, and Davis-Monthan Airforce Base in Tucson AZ.

He was discharged in February 1946.  He received a Master’s Degree from Yale School of Forestry in 1948.  Post graduation, he headed to the Maine woods, working for Hollingsworth & Whitney.  After a stint as Assistant Director of Dartmouth’s Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, he was back in Maine working for J. W. Sewall Co. out of Old Town.  While on assignment in Norway, Maine, he met Jacqueline Normand of Lewiston, who was filling in for a vacationing co-worker.  Jack changed jobs to work for Wright & Pierce in Topsham to be closer to Jackie.  They married in 1954, and moved to Auburn Maine in1957, where they raised four children.  In 1961, Jack started his own company: John E. O’Donnell & Associates, now in its 65th year.

Jack contributed to his adopted city as a manager and Board Member of Auburn Suburban Little League, Planning Board Member, active member of the Exchange Club, and decades-long contributor to the Auburn Public Library.  In the family, he will be remembered for his dry sense of humor, excellent lawn mowing, and the many hours he spent with his 10 grandchildren.

Jack was predeceased (in 2014) by his wife, Jackie.  He is survived by children: Margaret O’Donnell (John Rasmussen), John O’Donnell III (Chris), Michael O’Donnell (Sonia), and Lynn O’Donnell (Dan Kane), and grand-children: Connor (Anna Mays), Andrew, Brenna (Tucker Goodwin), and Walter Rasmussen; Orion (Vitoria Rocha) and Olivia O’Donnell; Evan O’Donnell; and, Nate Keegan (Jake Coppola), Owen (Evie), and Oliver Kane.

The family is very grateful to the exceptionally kind and conscientious caregivers who were with him for over five years, and to the Andwell Hospice C.N.A.s and Nurses who made his last months as comfortable as possible.