It is with a heavy heart that we announce the sudden passing of Charles Ricker Donnellan on May 5, 2024 at a care center in Sylmar, California. He was a resident at Sunrise at Sterling Canyon in the Assisted Care wing and had his own apartment for the past three years. While there, he gained the title of Jigsaw Puzzle Wizard. He was able to assemble a 1000-piece puzzle within a matter of four hours. Other residents were quite upset to find he had completed all the puzzles set up in the community room while they all slept. He did his best work at 4AM along with a cup of coffee until the puzzles were all completed. He was greeted with open arms at the breakfast table at 7:30AM.
He passed from several health complications, the most recent being liver failure.
He was flown to Hartford, Connecticut and a private internment was held on June 8, 2024 at the Union Hill Cemetery in Middle Haddam, Connecticut.
He is survived by two older siblings, Mary Ricker Leao-Martin, NSFG class of 1965 and Virginia Donnellan Eberhard, NSFG class of 1967.
Charlie and I roomed together our freshman year. He was a great roommate who could help with homework in most subjects and shared the food he came backs campus with after his home visits. He was a thoughtful, generous person.