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Memorial for KEVIN O'DONNELL JR.
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Born on Nov. 29, 1950
Departed on Nov. 7, 2012 and resided in Campbell, CA.
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| Visitation: |
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012
10:00 am - 11:00 am
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| Service: |
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012
11:00 am
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| Cemetery: |
St. John
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Please click on the links above for locations, times, maps, and directions.
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KEVIN O'DONNELL JR. (age 61) Beloved husband of Kim Tchang. Dear brother of Susan Dicken (Ross), Michael (Leslie), John (Masumi), Maura O'Donnell- McCarthy (Neil), Neil (deceased), Megan Patton (Patrick), and Hugh. Loving uncle of 17 and great-uncle of one. Preceded in death by his parents Margaret Ann, Ellen, and Kevin O'Donnell. Died peacefully November 7, 2012 of complications arising from cancer.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, O'Donnell attended primary school at St. Angela Merici Parish School in Fairview Park. After that he entered St. Ignatius, where he attended two years before transferring to Seoul Foreign School in Seoul, Korea in 1966, as a result of his father's employment as Director of Peace Corps, Korea. He graduated from SFS in 1968 as the class valedictorian, and was invited to meet President Lyndon Johnson at the White House as a result of his superior performance as a National Merit Scholar. An Eagle Scout, he was also awarded the Order of the Arrow in recognition of his leadership skills and service to his troop.
He graduated with honors from Yale in 1972 with a B.A. in Chinese Studies, and spent the next academic year teaching in Hong Kong, and the year after that in Taipei, Taiwan. Determined to pursue his life-long dream of writing, he made his first short story sale to ANALOG Science Fiction/Science Fact in January, 1973 and his second, also to ANALOG, the following year. Since then, periodicals ranging from Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine to Omni have printed more than seventy-five of his shorter works. A number have also been anthologized, both in the United States and overseas. He has published ten best-selling science fiction books in America, and has been reprinted in the United Kingdom, France, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany. In 1987 the French translation of his novel ORA:CLE received the Prix Litteraire Mannesmann Tally. He is also the author of a non-fiction book on personal computers. A dozen of his works have been recommended for the science fiction industry's highest literary prize, the Nebula Award, given annually by the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, of which O'Donnell has been a long-time and respected member.
O'Donnell has served his chosen profession in a number of ways during his career, including stints as Managing Editor of EMPIRE: For The SF Writer from 1979 to 1981, and then as Publisher until January 1983. Chairman of SFWA's Nebula Awards Novel Jury in 1990 and 1991, he also served as Chairman of SFWA's Nebula Awards Committee from 1990 until July 1998, and Business Manager of its quarterly publication, the Bulletin, from October 1994 until July 1998. Appointed Chairman of SFWA's Grievance Committee in August, 1999, he fought unceasingly for the rights of authors in an era of growing Internet piracy and corporate disregard of personal copyrights. As a result of these activities, in 2005, he received the Service to SFWA Award at SFWA's annual Nebula Banquet. He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of The Lunar Resources Company from 1994 to 1999, and as its Acting Business Manager from January of 1998 through October 1999.
An avid gardener, O'Donnell delighted in raising bonsai, vegetables, assorted ornamentals, and potted plants at his Cambell, CA home. He enjoyed sports and computers, for which he frequently wrote proprietary programming as well as technical training materials.
Funeral Mass Saturday, November 10 at St. Malachi Church, 2459 Washington Ave., (W. 25 and Detroit), Cleveland, OH at 11:00 AM. Interment St John Cemetery. FAMILY WILL RECEIVE FRIENDS SATURDAY AT CHURCH ONE HOUR PRIOR TO MASS FROM 10:00 AM UNTIL MASS TIME. Memorial contributions may be made to Ennis Court Chapel Fund, 13315 Detroit Ave., Lakewood, OH 44107.
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