Roberta C. Donnelly Was Seasonal Island Resident

Roberta C. (Bobbie) Donnelly died Feb. 8 at Scalabrini Villa, Nokingston, R.I., after a lengthy illness. She was 78.

She was born in Providence, R.I., Dec. 24, 1925, the daughter of the late Charles F. and Violet V. (McDonough) Moran. She grew up in the Edgewood section of Cranston, R.I., was graduated from Cranston East High School and attended Edgewood Junior College. She married Jack A. Donnelly and they settled in Warwick, R.I.., where they raised their family. In 1987, they moved to West Warwick where she was a communicant of St. James Parish. Mrs. Donnelly's husband, predeceased her.

Mrs. Donnelly was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She worked as a sales associate for many years until her retirement in 1987 and was a longtime summer resident of Oak Bluffs. She first came to the Vineyard with her parents as a teenager and spent her first summers in the Camp Grounds. Her family then bought a summer house on Tuckernuck avenue, Oak Bluffs, which served as the center for many family gatherings (summer and off-season) for 50 years. She was a communicant of Our Lady Star of the Sea Church in Oak Bluffs when on-Island. Her favorite times were the many wonderful summers on the Vineyard with her family.

She is survived by her children, Donna Donnelly Bond of N. Kingston, R.I., Jack Donnelly of Maidstone, Vt., Ann Donnelly Baird of Oak Bluffs, Marcy Donnelly Craine of West Warwick, Jim Donnelly of West Warwick and Carol Donnelly Cooke of Johnston, R.I.; 11 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, several nieces, nephews and cousins. She is also survived by a brother, Charles F. Moran of E. Greenwich, R.I., and a sister, Joan Page of Palm City, Fla.

A mass of Christian burial was held on Feb. 12 at St. James and St. Johns Church in West Warwick. Interment was at St. Ann's Cemetery in Cranston. Donations in her name may be made to the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Parkinson's Disease Association, P.O. Box 6642, Providence, RI 02940-6642.