Obituary of JAMES (JAKE) O’DONNELL

JAMES (JAKE) O’DONNELL James (Jake) O'Donnell was cleared for departure and took off for his next adventure in the afterlife on January 11, 2017. Born in 1934, Jake was the youngest of three. He is survived by his sisters, Ruth-Marie and Noreen, and his children, Hugh and Eileen. Kind, charming, smart and adventurous, flying was an enduring passion for Jake. He served in the RCAF as a pilot. He went on to become a journalist, starting his career with the paper in Thunder Bay, and there he met and married Breeda, the love of his life. They moved to Winnipeg, him taking a job reporting for the Free Press, then working at the CBC in both television and radio. Jake and Breeda spent 47 wonderful years together. They loved to socialize, particularly with the old Union Centre and ANAF crowds, camping in their fifth-wheel, and spending time with family. Family grew to include son-in-law Robb Mitchell and daughter-in law Claudia Cahatol. Following Breeda’s death in 2004, the light of Jake’s life became his wonderful grandson, William. Jake's final years were not entirely kind. Dementia nibbled away at his mind and breast cancer his body. To the end, he knew his family and friends and frequently imagined good things – placing himself back at CBC planning election coverage, enduring lengthy City Hall meetings and sending out teams to gather the news as he did in real life for decades. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. That list is long and includes his cousins Dick and Lenore, family in Ireland (especially nieces Kitty Scott and Helen Tynan), Shaliza Wheatland and the Nabbie sisters, Ben and Fe Cahatol, Graeme Mitchell and Carleen Heller. Deepest thanks to Carleen, Yvonne, all of the truly wonderful staff of St. Norbert PCH along with his table mates for helping make Jake’s last years good and his passing as gentle as possible. A celebration of Jake's life will be held at 1:30 p.m., Monday, January 16 at Our Lady of Victory Church, 249 Arnold Ave. at Osborne St. in Winnipeg. In lieu of flowers, donations to Mikah House, Siloam Mission or the charity of your choice would be wonderful. As the newspapers say, that’s - 30 -.