Gloria Roach O'Donnell's Obituary
Gloria Roach O’Donnell, aged 72, died peacefully at home on September 9 after a long illness. A native of Troon, Camborne, Cornwall, England, she earned an honors degree in English Literature and a teaching credential at the University of Wales, Cardiff in 1962. She taught at the prestigious Dunottar School for Girls, Reigate, Surrey and then emigrated to the USA to teach at the Williams School, New London, Connecticut. She married William H. O’Donnell, her husband of 45 years, at the Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. Their daughters Kerry Susan O’Donnell of New York and Clare Louise Karchmar of Chicago were born in Princeton, New Jersey. The family then spent 15 years in State College, Pennsylvania, punctuated by frequent travel to England and Mexico, before moving to Memphis in 1986. In her later years, despite being wheelchair bound from Multiple Sclerosis she continued to enjoy traveling, and especially family visits with her three grandchildren. A memorial will be held in her native village in England.
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