John Massey Donnelly died March 21, 2017. He was born June 3, 1929, the son of John Massey Donnelly, Sr. and Daisy Thomas Donnelly. He was married in June 1963 to the former Martha Douglas who died in July 2010. John is survived by his daughters Allison Grace McNeill, Arlington, VA and Fairleigh Douglas Killen (James), Bethesda, MD; grandchildren, Jason Parker Powell, Portland, OR, James Clifford Killen III and Julianne Frances Killen, both of Bethesda, MD.
John graduated from Montgomery Bell Academy and Vanderbilt University and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After graduation he served as a commissioned officer in the US Navy and received the Purple Heart following action off the coast of North Korea in August 1952. He retired from the military as a Lieutenant JG in 1955.
His working career was spent primarily with Ingram Industries and predecessor companies, having started with Ingram Oil and Refining Company in 1955. He retired in 1989 as an executive vice president and a member of its Board.
He was a member and former president of the Exchange Club, now Economic Club of Nashville. He was a Deacon and later an Elder of the Presbyterian Church (USA). John was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church where Rev. Dr. Donovan Drake will conduct a service at 3:00 pm on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 with a time of visitation immediately following the service. John will be buried next to his wife at a private burial at Mount Olivet Cemetery.
