Leaving a Legacy of Love
July 30, 2020 Update: In honor of Jack’s birthday, which is today, we are proud to announce the creation of the John J. “Jack” Donnelly Memorial Scholarship to honor this day, his name, his legacy and his devotion to making a difference in a better way.
We share the sadness of so many in the passing of Jack Donnelly, a founding Board Member of Independence Mission Schools, on June 9th, 2020. Jack’s leadership was a labor of love that began over 20 years ago with Saint Martin de Porres Catholic School.
Joe Stapleton, fellow IMS Board Member and long-time friend of Jack, describes the legacy of Jack Donnelly perfectly:
The legacy of Jack Donnelly should not be for the way he changed the skyline of Philadelphia. It should be for the way he changed the neighborhoods of Philadelphia. Jack was a builder of towering young men and young women as much as he was a builder of tall buildings. He should be remembered more for his work at St. Malachy School, St. Rose of Lima School and St. Martin de Porres School than for his work on the Comcast Center, the Barnes Museum or Citizens Bank Park. He shaped buildings that will shape the future of the children leaving those buildings to be, as Jack would say to them, anything they want to be. He turned philanthropy into opportunity for children of all faiths. He was a builder of character and an architect of hope. He saw Catholic elementary schools as the strong foundation required to support the future of thousands of children in need. He was not prepared to allow their zip codes to determine their ability to succeed. Philadelphia is a better city because of Jack Donnelly but not just because of the buildings he built. Jack should and will be remembered more for his transformational impact on so many children who have come through our IMS schools. That will be the real enduring legacy of our beloved Jack Donnelly.
With his passing, we are left with an emptiness in our hearts, as Jack was, and will always be, a champion for our children.
While Jack was a ‘lion’ of a man in terms of skill, drive and accomplishment, it was his faith and heart which really drove him. Jack looked at the young people in our inner city, believed in them passionately and made a concrete path for them to succeed. Jack Donnelly ‘walked the walk’. Jack will be missed greatly. Our world “needs more Jacks”… god bless you, Jack!
Sr. Nancy Fitzgerald, SSJ
Director of Alumni and Special Programs, St. Martin de Porres Catholic School
Please join us as we hold Jack’s family in our prayers. We love you, Jack, and we are so very grateful for the presence you had in all of our lives!
The Donnelly family has so kindly asked that gifts in Jack’s memory be made in support of our IMS students through the John J. “Jack” Donnelly Memorial Scholarship. If you wish to remember Jack in this way, please click here.
Do you have a special memory of Jack that you’d like to share? Please email us, we’d love to hear it!
You can view Jack’s obituary here.