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...
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.