Norma W. Donelan

A century of love, generosity, kindness, and support came to a peaceful close as our beautiful and beloved mother, Norma Lorraine (Wolf) Donelan, passed away on February 9, 2026, in Canterbury, New Hampshire, surrounded by family.

Mom was born on July 14, 1926, to Gustave and Alice (Kepple) Wolf. She married William C. Donelan on August 31, 1946, after a career at MIT, and was married 68 years at the time of his death in 2014. They lived in Williamstown, MA and raised their eight children before retiring to Fort Myers, FL in 1985.

Mom was love. Mom was energy! How she managed to do so much while caring and tending to a family of ten is truly amazing. She was our constant guide, a source of comfort, strength, and unconditional love. Her kindness and selflessness extended beyond our family, always lending a hand or a listening ear to friends and neighbors. And Mom was extremely civic-minded. Somehow, while acting as our chauffeur, chef, and housekeeper, she managed to head the League of Women Voters, the Garden Club, the United Nations, was a volunteer nursery school teacher, a volunteer worker at her church’s thrift shop, (in fact she was a pillar of her church community), and so many other things she never sought attention for. We'll remember her as the steady heart of our family, whose love and encouragement shaped who we are today.

If there was one thing Mom loved (even more than ice cream) it was playing games; any kind of games, from cards to Dominos to Rummikub. Lord help anyone who tried to beat her at Skip-Bo. You wouldn’t have a chance. She also swam multiple laps every morning, most often one hundred, well into her nineties. She’d often get up before light to begin. No wonder she was in such great shape.

Survivors include her sisters, Alice Nicholson of Scottsdale, Arizona and Marilyn Sherry of Wellesley, Massachusetts, multiple nieces and nephews, seven children and twelve grandchildren: Kathleen Donelan and husband Steve Dallmeyer of North Fort Myers, FL; Patricia Fortier and husband Jay of Providence Forge, VA (Jacquelyn and Brian); William Donelan and wife Evelyn Rodriguez of Sanford, FL (Will, Darsa, Audrey, Julia, Siara, Maida, and Leida); David Donelan of Canterbury, NH (Laura, Jennifer, and Stephen); Thomas Donelan of MA (Stephanie); Robert Donelan of Smyrna, GA and James Donelan and wife Mary Beth of Cheney, WA (Alyssa); nine great-grandchildren: Taylor from Will, Lyla and Myles from Audrey; Henry and Everett from Julia; Owen and Evan from Jacqui; Paisley from Alyssa; and Benjamin, Carter, and Jaxon from Jennifer.

Norma was predeceased by her parents Gustave and Alice, brothers Gus, Joe, Charles, Paul, Robert, John; sister Doris Houlihan; daughter and son-in-law Susan Donelan and James Boggs; and grandsons Adam Fortier and Trevor Donelan.

She will be laid to rest alongside her husband Bill at the Sarasota (Florida) National Cemetery.

The family requests memorial contributions be made to the Susan E. Donelan Search for Hope Fund, c/o Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Brookline West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445-7226.