San Juan Bautista resident Dennis Donnelly passed away on March 3rd. Dennis was born October 24th, 1947 to Robert and Dorothy Donnelly in Chino, California.
Dennis was Baptized, Confirmed and raised in the Catholic Church attending Saint Mary Nativity School and Sacred Heart elementary schools in Salinas. She continued to Palma High School and was a member of the first graduating class of Notre Dame.
She started college at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles majoring in music, then attending San Jose State graduating with a degree in Political Science.
She worked for a short time at Bank of America before starting her career with Hewlett-Packard. She continued with HP for a number of years, her division eventually being spun off into Agilent Technologies where she was an accounting supervisor.
Dennis spent much of her time volunteering at Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen in San Jose, ultimately serving on the Board of Directors.
Upon retirement she became the loving daughter, companion and caregiver to her mother Dorothy who passed away last year at the age of 100.
Dennis like her mother was a collector of antiques and collectibles and would set up every year for the annual San Juan Flea Market for over 45 years.
Dennis was a lifelong Giants fan spending many an afternoon listening to the games and following her favorite, Willie Mays. There was never a second thought about enduring the freezing summer night games at Candlestick Park waiting for Willie to hit a walk off home run in the bottom of a 0-0 ninth. She loved to attend games with her family and friends. She was also in attendance for the October 17, 1989 World Series game when the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred.
Dennis loved babies, toddlers, children of all ages and every pet she or her friends had. She was an avid reader and loved to talk on the phone with friends and especially loved talking politics.
She was preceded in death by her Father and Mother, San Juan Bautista residents Robert and Dorothy.
Dennis is survived by brother Chris (wife Fran), niece Linda (husband Brian Trout), nephew Bob (wife Korina) and nephew Tom. Dennis especially loved grandniece Emma (daughter of Linda and Brian), grandnephews Liam and Ethan (sons of Linda and Brian) and grandniece Alivia (daughter of Bob and Korina).
Visitation will be on Monday, March 11th from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Grunnagle-Ament-Nelson Funeral Home.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be held on Tuesday, March 12th at 11:00 a.m. at Mission San Juan Bautista. Interment will follow at San Juan District Cemetery.
The family requests that any donations in Dennis’s memory be made to Loaves & Fishes, 1534 Berger Drive, San Jose, CA, 95112, (408) 922-9285.