Dr. John L. O'Donnell

East Lansing

Dr. John L. O'Donnell, Professor Emeritus of Finance at Michigan State

University, former Chairman of the MSU Finance Department, member of the

Michigan Public Service Commission, leader of economic development

programs in the Middle East, and noted business consultant, died on April

16, 2012, at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife, the love of his life for

the last 60 years, Lucinda Jane O'Donnell, and his four sons, George F.

O'Donnell, Jack L. O'Donnell, David B. O'Donnell, and Paul D. O'Donnell, as

well as nine grandchildren. Professor O'Donnell launched his own version of

the American Dream when he immigrated to the United States from his

native England in the early 1950s. Prior to immigrating, he had served in the

British Imperial Frontier Forces in India and Burma, and had led military

contingents in West Africa (present-day Nigeria). He graduated first in his

officer training class, mastered several local languages, and traveled

extensively throughout Asia and Africa. Following completion of his military

service, he obtained his degree in Economics from Cambridge University

(Trinity College), where his father had also previously obtained his degree in

Economics. While subsequently on scholarship to Indiana University, he met

his future wife and the enduring love of his life, the former Lucinda Jane Fall

of Indianapolis, Indiana. After obtaining his Doctorate in Business

Administration from Indiana University, he taught at Notre Dame before

assuming teaching and research duties at the institution to which he would

ever afterward dedicate his life, Michigan State University. (Each and every

one of his four sons is a proud MSU graduate.) Professor O'Donnell was an

avid student of global economic and political affairs, and led educational and

economic development projects to Turkey in the 1960s and 1970s that were

administered jointly by MSU and the US Agency for International

Development. During the 1970s and 1980s, he also developed economic

models that were used by public utilities and regulatory agencies to establish

appropriate service rates, and he built a thriving private consulting business

based on his well-known expertise in this field. He was a sought-after

speaker and panelist at conferences dedicated to public utilities and their

economic issues, ultimately serving on Michigan's Public Service

Commission. His was a full life, an interesting life, and a life well and truly

lived. He will certainly always be remembered by everyone who knew him as

a possessor of unshakable optimism, incredible determination, unwavering

loyalty, iron-clad integrity, fundamental decency, and penetrating

intelligence.

A Memorial Service will be held at Monday, April 23, 2012, 11:00 am at

Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, 1730 East Grand River Ave. East

Lansing. The family will receive friends a half hour prior to the service. On

line condolences may be made at www.greastlansing.com.