Obituary of John Patrick Donnelly

Public Relations Executive John P. Donnelly, 82, of Reston, VA, served in senior public-relations with industry, government and in the non-profit sector. He was recruited by the White House in 1971 to head NASA's public programs during the Apollo period. In 1975 he received the Outstanding Leadership Medal, one of the space agency's highest awards, for his role as chief negotiator of the public affairs agreement with the Soviet Union for the Apollo/Soyuz mission. He later headed the delegation of astronauts and cosmonauts on their goodwill tours of the Soviet Union and the United States. Before joining NASA a Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs he was a corporate vice president for public relations and advertising with Fortune 500 companies in Cleveland and Los Angeles. Later in his career, while he was serving as Vice President of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Donnelly was one of the founders and organizers of Research!America, a national advocacy organization dedicated to more government funding for medical research. He served as a Director of the organization along with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Senator Lowell Weicker and other prominent figures from fields of academia, medicine and philanthropy. He later joined the organization as VP for public affairs. In this position he helped gain recognition for the fledging organization and personally recruited a number of its initial members. While with the MS Society and Research!America he was twice runner-up for the Emmy for TV PSA's he created and scripted. Mr. Donnelly was a longtime member and a former Governor of the National Press Club. A New York City native, he was graduated from Long Island University after duty in the Navy from 1949 to 1953, where he served on a destroyer and earned seven battle stars for action in Korea. He is survived by his wife, the former Theresa Coleman and five children, 11 grandchildren and one great grandson. His children are Veronica Polston and Stewartstown PA, John, an investigative reporter and former Chairman of the National Press Club, Washington D.C., Matthew, a mortgage banker in Leesburg, VA, Kathryn Luwis of Washington , D.C., and Maureen Morris of Leesburg, VA. He is also survived by two brothers, James and Gerald both of Florida.