By Angela Marshall
Father Augustine Addai, who delivered the homily at Mr. McDonnell's funeral Mass on Monday, believes the avid fisherman has moved on to better waters. "I tell you tonight there's going to be a fishing contest in heaven," Addai said.
Mr. McDonnell was 30 when he took the helm of Wilson School in 1959. He had begun his tenure with the Rockville Centre Public School District at Watson School four years earlier.
Every school day for 25 years, Mr. McDonnell said good morning to the students of Wilson School. He knew them all by name, said Judy Birnbaum. Mr. McDonnell hired Birnbaum as a first-grade teacher 32 years ago. She is one of a half dozen Mr. McDonnell hires still working in the district.
Calling Mr. McDonnell an innovator, Birnbaum said he started several programs that were eventually adopted throughout the district. She praised open court, a math program Mr. McDonnell introduced in 1972, and his modified open classroom, in which students worked in small groups or individually.
The Wilson School program was a modified version of the British infant school. It was modified because, as Birnbaum said, Mr. McDonnell didn't just plunge into things. He took potential changes very seriously, first getting his feet wet and then seeing how things went before fully committing.
Birnbaum also praised Mr. McDonnell for giving the teachers and staff the structure and support needed to institute his programs. "He respected and loved his staff tremendously," she said. "He had a lot of faith in us and he made it easy for us to have faith in him."
Mr. McDonnell also managed to work fun into his programs, adding school fairs as well. He believed science and social studies were just as important as reading, writing and arithmetic and held fairs so that the whole school community would believe that too.
A favorite memory of Birnbaum's is of Mr. McDonnell showing up for the school's bicentennial fair in 1976 dressed as George Washington. It just fit. "He was very well loved and respected," she said. "He made us part of his own family."
Mr. McDonnell retired at the end of the 1983-84 school year. He returned a few times to visit, and the staff was glad to see him, but Birnbaum thought the visits were probably hard for him.
In addition to being principal of Wilson, Mr. McDonnell was an adjunct professor of mathematics at Molloy College, and during his tenure authored several math textbooks.
His teaching was not restricted to the classroom. During the eulogy, daughter Eileen McDonnell recalled the many lessons she and her five siblings were taught by their father. She learned some of the most profound lessons by observing the quiet dignity he displayed during his long illness. She saw an amazing inner strength despite physical weakness. "He taught us all a lesson in courage and hope," she said.
Whenever anyone asked Mr. McDonnell how he was feeling, his answer was always the same: "Fantastic."
Ms. McDonnell spoke about her father's love for his family, recalling the special bonds he had with each member -- his pride that daughter Terry Ganley had followed in his footsteps as a principal; the hours he spent teaching his grandsons to fish.
He taught his grandsons something else, too, Ms. McDonnell said. "He taught you what a gentle man really is."
He did it all with his wife, Barbara -- his best gal, his jewel -- at his side. They married almost a half century ago, and Barbara was "his compass and his anchor," Eileen McDonnell said. She made him feel rich.
In addition to his wife, children and school family, Mr. McDonnell had another family. For 25 years he served as a Eucharistic minister, first at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre and later in the Holy Cross Parish in Vero Beach. Mr. McDonnell didn't just work inside the churches. He felt a calling to make house calls to shut-ins. He would later welcome volunteers like himself when his illness confined him to his home.
Mr. McDonnell was a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, a 43-year member of American Legion Post 390 in Hempstead and a VFW member. He was also a knight of the fourth degree in the Holy Cross Parish Knights of Columbus and a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
In addition to his wife, Mr. McDonnell is survived by his children and their spouses, Terry and Bob Ganley of Oceanside; Jean and David Sincerbox of Goshen, N.Y.; Maureen and Anthony Nicoletti of Port Jefferson; Eileen McDonnell of Oradell, N.J.; William and Mary Beth McDonnell of Rockville Centre and Barbara and George Kelnhofer of Malverne. He was the cherished grandfather of Kellyanne and Matthew Nicoletti, Jennifer Ganley, Kevin, Kenneth and Katherine Sincerbox, and John and Brian Kelnhofer. He is also survived by a brother, Robert, of Parish, Fla.; a sister, Veronica Graf, of Tarpon Springs, Fla., and 22 nieces and nephews.
Donations can be made to the William H. McDonnell Commitment to Education Scholarship Fund at Molloy College, 1000 Hempstead Ave., Rockville Centre, NY 11570, or Good Shepherd Hospice, 528 Mineola Ave., Carle Place, NY 11514.
