Nancy J. Donnelly

Nancy Donnelly Obituary
Nancy Jane Donnelly, age 68, passed away peacefully on February 26, 2024. She was born July 12, 1955, in Salem, OH to Gail and Betty Walter who preceded her in death. She was survived by her sisters, Cheryl Coy, Diane Matthews, and Sally Doss, as well as her brothers, Kenneth Walter and Greg Walter. She was also survived by her daughter, Rebecca Jensen (Randy); daughter, Kate Sekol (Owen); and son, Aaron Donnelly (Carol), She had many grandchildren that she dearly loved, Chelsey Jensen, CJ Jensen, Brittney Jensen, Nathan Jensen, Dominic Sekol, Tiffany Harris, Kayleauna Frazier, Alexandria Agardi, Savanna Harris, and Ashlie Harris. She had one lovely great grandchild, Arianna Harris. Nancy was preceded in death by her brothers-in-law, Raymond Doss and Wesley Coy.
Books and literacy were her passions. Learning and service were her pursuits. In her personal mission statement, she expressed that she wanted her life to be "based on service towards God and living with integrity and purpose towards man." She was fiercely independent, had an entrepreneurial spirit, and was a poet at heart.
Nancy was a literature enthusiast and spent her life doing what she loved. She was a librarian from 1986 - 2012 when she ventured out to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning her own book business, Books and Back Again. She often gifted books to her loved ones and sparked a lifelong love of reading in more than one heart. She used her love of books to further the kingdom of God by establishing the Evangel Seminary Library in Kiev, Ukraine and working tirelessly as a volunteer with the National Center for the Blind Library. She received her Bachelor of Science in Professional Writing. Through her editing prowess she saved more than one student thesis from a certain disaster. One of the greatest desires of her heart was to earn a Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Creative Writing in Poetry from Ashland University which she did in 2016. Nancy's life was exemplified by the thoughts expressed in the poem she wrote below:
"Before Entering"
by Nancy Jane Donnelly
Know friends you journey into a life.
Not a perfect life.
Not an exemplary life,
Not an apologetic life,
But a sincerely led -
Enthusiastically driven -
Through depths and heights
Determined to be purposeful for the better.
A life which has lost, and lost, and lost -
And a life which has determinedly gained.
A life I have always wanted to share.
Come with me now and see
The best with ever be
Just after the next tick of the clock.
Friends and family will be received from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at Real Life Church in Salem with a memorial service at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 4, 2024. She will be laid to rest at Hope Cemetery in Salem, Ohio beside her mother. Arrangements are being handled by Stark Memorial Funeral Home and Cremation Services.
To view Nancy's obituary or send condolences visit www.starkmemorial.com.
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