Mary June (Hennessey) McDonald

Mary June McDonald, 79, of Delhi, Iowa, passed away on Monday, April 24, 2017, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.  She was born on June 17, 1937, in Iowa City, the daughter of Maurice and Anna (Killias) Hennessey.  In 1955 Mary June graduated from St. John Catholic High School in Ryan.  She then attended Briar Cliff College and taught at Monti School for a year.  Mary June then returned to Briar Cliff and received her teaching degree.  She taught school in Omaha, Nebraska, for two years.

On June 29, 1963, Mary June was united in marriage to James Edmund McDonald at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Ryan.  Three children were born to this union.  Together they resided on the McDonald farm near Delhi.  Mary June taught at Buck Creek School for one year, and later for 28 years as a kindergarten teacher at Johnson Elementary School in Hopkinton until her retirement in 2000.

Mary June was a longtime member at St. Patrick Catholic Church.  She loved ballroom dancing with her favorite partner, Jim.  Mary June was the ultimate hostess and everyone was welcomed at Old McDonald’s Farm where baked goods and casseroles always seemed to “magically” appear.  Mary June will be remembered as one who loved and enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. 

Survivors include her husband, James McDonald of Delhi; her three children, Jamie (Kristin) McDonald of Clive, Sean (Melissa) McDonald of Marion, and Brigid (Chuck) Gifford of Menasha, Wisconsin; nine grandchildren; five siblings, Catherine (Gene) DeLucia of St. Petersburg, Florida, Maurice Hennessey of Ryan, Marilyn McElligott of Waterloo, Sister Gwen Hennessey of Sioux City, and Dr. Larry (Donna)Hennessey of Cape Coral, Florida; and many nieces and nephews.

Mary June was preceded in death by her parents; four sisters, Geraldine Welter, Monica Krebsbach, Sister Miriam Hennessey, Sister Dorothy Hennessey; five brothers, David, Jack, James, Anthony “Tom”, and Father Ron Hennessey.

Mary June was an Iowa Lions Eye Bank donor.

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