Dennis Carroll Donnelly ’89
Dennis Carroll Donnelly ’89 passed away on June 5. Dennis was born November 6, 1967, and graduated from Cascia Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1985 as valedictorian with highest honors. At Dartmouth Dennis was an English major and active in The Stonefence Review, Aegis, student housing, and the language study abroad program in Toledo, Spain. Dennis played varsity soccer and was in Alpha Delta. Dennis was also involved in the Dartmouth Club of Western Oklahoma. After graduation he taught English in Hong Kong and Thailand before returning to Tulsa. His various endeavors in Tulsa included serving as associate editor of Uptown News, cofounding literary journal Barbed Wire, writing curriculum for and teaching at Tulsa English Institute at the San Miguel Middle School. Dennis always challenged his students by introducing them to classic literature and encouraging learning in all areas. An accomplished musician, Dennis wrote music and played with a local band, Jam Econo. Sharing his love of music led him to start a music program with donated instruments at San Miguel. Dennis was a prodigious writer of poetry and read two of his poems at the memorial service for his father, Fred, in May. Dennis is survived by his partner, Dana; mother Ronnie; siblings Amy, Andrew, Sarah, Cathryn, and Meghan; nieces and nephews Emma, Liam, Ava, and Connor; and best friend Dan Diver. To honor Dennis’ memory, the family has established the Dennis Donnelly Memorial Scholarship at San Miguel School (sanmigueltulsa.org) and Cascia Hall (www.casciahall.com).
