Lorraine M. Donnelly

Lorraine M. Donnelly, a longtime resident of Montvale, NJ, passed away peacefully at age 85 on January 16, 2026, surrounded by her loving family, after a brief illness.

Beloved wife of Joseph J. Donnelly Jr. for 45 years and predeceased by her daughter Sandra Miller Glazier. She is survived by her children Debra Miller Maldonato (Gerald) Boenigk of Windham, NY, Laurie (Joseph Sr.) Miller Shane of Myrtle Beach, SC, Christopher Miller of Montvale, NJ, Joseph J. Donnelly III of New City, NY, and Jill Donnelly Devine of Oxford CT; son-in-law Daniel Glazier of Palm City, FL; grandchildren Joseph Shane Jr., Austin Glazier, Nicholas Shane, Patrick Devine, Andrew Donnelly, and Kate Donnelly; and great-grandson Jackson Shane.

Lorraine was born in Jersey City, NJ, to Paul and Victoria (DePietro) Rochel, raised in Union City, and graduated from the Academy of the Holy Angels. As an academic, Lorraine earned a Bachelor of Arts in English & Education from Caldwell College and a Master of Arts in Teaching with a specialization in English & Supervision from Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU). At the onset of her career, she was the supervisor for graduate-level intern teachers at FDU and subsequently instructed English in the Bergen and Hudson County school systems. In 1980, she joined Berkeley College of Business as an English Professor, serving as President of the Faculty Association from 1986 to 1988 and named “Instructor of the Year” in 1987. She held memberships with both the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD).

Beginning in the 1990s, Lorraine accompanied her husband Joseph on an international assignment to Asia residing in Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore for over a decade. During her time in Asia, she earned certification in teaching English as a foreign language and provided both private instruction and business English courses at Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in Tokyo. She held affiliations with the Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT) and the College Women’s Association of Japan (CWAJ).

In her leisure time, Lorraine traveled internationally and enjoyed pleasure cruising throughout the Caribbean. She had the privilege to experience several of the New Wonders of the World, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil, the Colosseum in Italy, the Great Wall of China, and the Taj Mahal in India. She was an avid reader, a bridge enthusiast, a pianist, and developed a love for creating oriental art and crafts.

Lorraine will always be remembered for her radiant smile, kind heart, tremendous love for life, and, in her day, for being known as the “Dancing Queen”.

A visitation will be held at Becker Funeral Home, located at 219 Kinderkamack Road, Westwood, NJ 07675, on January 21, 2026, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

The funeral mass is scheduled for January 22, 2026, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am at the Church of the Presentation, 271 W Saddle River Rd, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458.

The committal will take place on January 22, 2026, from 11:30 am to 12:00 pm at George Washington Memorial Park, 234 Paramus Rd, Paramus, NJ 07652.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Lorraine’s memory to the Church of the Presentation www.churchofpresentation.org or the Alzheimer's Association www.alz.org.