Stephen Michael Donnelly

Stephen Michael Donnelly died on August 16, after a brief illness. The son of Walter A. and Dorothy M. Donnelly, he was born in 1933, at the old St. Joseph’s Hospital, just two blocks from where he grew up on Lawrence Street in the heart of Ann Arbor’s old Fourth Ward. Steve was a lifelong Ann Arbor resident and a lifetime member of St. Thomas the Apostle parish. He attended St. Thomas school from the first grade through high-school. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University. From 1953-55, he served in the US Army’s Counter-Intelligence Corps, stationed in Stuttgart, Germany. Steve was employed at the U of M Computer Center as Supervisor of Computer Operations. He retired in 1997, after thirty-three years.

Steve was a skilled musician, mostly self-taught, playing instruments ranging from horns, clarinets, and piano, to his favorite, the banjo. He loved playing and listening to old-time banjo music and entertained others by playing it for them. He enjoyed black powder rifle shooting and was a member of the Washtenaw Sportsman’s Club. Steve was a voracious reader and a fund of information about history and nature. He enjoyed spending time with his grand and great grandchildren and hearing stories about them.

Steve is survived by a large and loving family: his wife of fifty-nine years, Shirley (Aamlid) Donnelly, their children, Kevin (Lynn), Timothy, Susan, Christopher, and Elizabeth; grandchildren Eric, Andrew, Madison, Austin, Leslie, Shane, Ian, Connor, and Rooty; great grandchildren Kamryn, Jackson, Zoey, and Owen; and his brothers Jerome (Winter Park, Florida) and Denis (Saratoga Springs, New York).

A memorial mass will be held on Wednesday, August 23 at 10:00 AM in St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church of Ann Arbor, with a luncheon to follow in the Parish Hall. Arrangements under the direction of Muehlig Funeral Chapel, Ann Arbor, MI.