Patrick F. McDonnell

Patrick McDonnell, former reporter for the East Aurora Advertiser and Erie County Board of Elections official, died on Sunday, August 16. He was 72.

Mr. McDonnell was a lifetime East Auroran, son of the late Faith B. and John Q. McDonnell, who raised all eight children at the family homestead behind the picket fence at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and Sycamore Street, which once again became Patrick’s home later in life. He was also preceded in death by his brother, Thomas. He is survived by his son, Jonathan “Jack” McDonnell; brothers, John “Hubba” (late Brenda), Edward (Ruth) and Peter (Sue); sisters Mary Ordal, Jean (late Elmer) Covelli and Nancy (Rodney) Reynolds; the mother of his son, Tamara (nee Hadley) McDonnell, and many loving nieces and nephews.

Mr. McDonnell graduated from Bishop Timon High School in 1972, SUNY Erie Community College with an associate degree in recreation leadership and Canisius University with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He interned for Congressman Jack Kemp, spending time in Washington, D.C. He worked for a time at the Boys and Girls Club of East Aurora and at the Erie County Youth Services Detention Center, where he developed a rapport with young people. For many years, he was a stringer for the East Aurora Advertiser and Elma Review, covering Elma, Marilla and Wales town boards with a special style of conventional as well as investigative reporting, which prompted publisher Grant Hamilton to say, “I enjoyed Pat’s reporting, although it occasionally needed ‘a bit’ of editing.” He wrote, as well, for the Buffalo News.

Mr. McDonnell became a business owner in the ‘90s when he bought Jackson’s Alleys on Whaley Avenue. Over the span of a few years, he provided bowling with family-friendly pricing by day and was a gregarious and animated, if overgenerous, barman at night.

He was an engaged East Aurora resident, never afraid of controversy, who expressed his concern for the well-being of the community by serving 10 years as a Village of East Aurora trustee and had a stint as well on the East Aurora Schools Board of Education.

His last employment before retirement in 2016 was at the Erie County Board of Elections.

To call Mr. McDonnell a “local character” would be selling him short. He was more than that; he was one of a kind. He no doubt gave more locals their colorful nicknames than anyone else. He was passionate about politics, local and otherwise, without being dogmatic; he loved a good discussion where he often played the devil’s advocate. He loved to share a raucous good time with his many friends.

During one of his campaigns for village office, he was asked, “If you had to identify a single attribute of the village that contributes to a positive quality of life, what would it be?” to which he replied, “Easy. It is the volunteer spirit of the people who reside here. They are willing to do whatever it takes to improve the quality of life for all its residents.” He embodied that spirit.

The family will receive friends at the New Comer Funeral Home, 5090 Transit Road, Depew, N.Y., on Monday, August 24, from 4-8 p.m. Services for Mr. McDonnell will be held at Immaculate Conception Church, 520 Oakwood Avenue, East Aurora, on Tuesday, August 25, at 11:00 AM, please assemble at church. Memorial gifts in Mr. McDonnell’s honor may be made to the Boys and Girls Club of East Aurora, 24 Paine Street, East Aurora, NY 14052 www.bgcea.org (http://www.bgcea.org/).