Jean Lewis McDonell, 86, passed away peacefully on Saturday, January 10, 2015, in Gainesville, Florida.
Jean Lewis McDonell was born January 8, 1929 in Danville, Virginia, to Lonnie Malcom Lewis and Louise Strange Lewis. She was a loving Wife, Mother, Daughter, Aunt, and Grandmother. Her love to her family and to others was unconditional, and she was a joy to all who met her. After she graduated with honors from the University of Virginia to become a registered nurse, she started work at Duke University where she met the love of her life, Warren Stone McDonell, moved to Gainesville Florida and were married on September 10, 1955 and began their lives together and their family in Gainesville, Florida. After working as an operating room nurse for 34 years at Alachua General Hospital and Shands Hospital, she retired from the Veteran’s Administration Hospital 1989.
Jean was preceded in death by her parents, Lonnie Malcom Lewis and Louise Strange Lewis, and her beloved husband of 46 years Warren Stone McDonell.
She leaves behind her son Warren Loyd McDonell, Daughter Emily McDonell Richeson, Son-in-Law Dr James S Richeson, and her granddaughter Elena Rea McDonell, along with many nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Jean will be held on Saturday, January 17th, 2015 at 3:00 in Forest Meadows Memorial Park Central’s “Chapel in the Meadows” 4100 NW 39th Ave. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jean’s memory to the Florida Methodist’s Children’s Home.
