Richard Charles McDonnell

Richard Charles McDonnell, Esquire, 73, of Upper Saddle River, died on Jan. 5.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he attended St. Cecelia High School. He received his bachelor's degree from St. Peter's College, his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University and his J.D. from Seton Hall University. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve as a captain in the Military Police Corps. After beginning his career as a marketing representative at IBM, he co-founded the firm McDonnell and Whitaker in Ramsey, where he practiced law until 2009. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1969, the New York Bar in 1990 and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1983. He was certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Civil Law Attorney and by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Matrimonial Law Attorney in 1998. He served as the acting municipal prosecutor for the Borough of Saddle River, the Borough of Allendale and the Township of Mahwah. A member of the Bergen County Bar Association since 1969, he served as trustee, secretary, treasurer and president of the Bar Association from 2008-2009. He served as councilman for the Borough of Upper Saddle River from 1980-1982, counsel to the Upper Saddle River Planning Board from 1984-2001, and counsel for the Upper Saddle River Board of Education from 1974-1980. He served on the New Jersey State Ethics Association. He was the recipient of the Governor's Citation for Services in Volunteers in Parole Program and was vice chair of the District II-A Ethics Committee. He was a member of the Adjunct Faculty at Bergen Community College from 1971-1985. He also volunteered as a Little League Baseball coach and football coach in Upper Saddle River. He had homes in Point Pleasant Beach and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

He is survived by his wife of almost 50 years, Jane (Burns) of Tenafly.; his brother, Thomas of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; his children, Susan and husband Matthew Kelley of Jefferson, Mass., Michael and wife Marissa McDonnell of Vienna, Va., Diane and husband Bill Pickles of Bradford, Mass. and Nancie and husband Tom Ruder of Bethesda, Md.; his grandchildren, Kristen, Kerrie, Patrick, Kaytlyn, Shannon, Michael Kelley, Elise, Hailey, Whitney McDonnell, Matthew and Jake Pickles, Sydney, Stephen and Samantha Ruder; his great-grandchild, Daniel Petroff; and many cousins and friends. He was predeceased by his parents, George and Dorothie McDonnell.

A funeral Mass was celebrated on Jan. 10 at the Church of the Presentation in Upper Saddle River, where he was a parishioner, followed by interment at Ascension Cemetery in Monsey, N.Y.

Arrangements were by the Van Emburgh-Sneider-Pernice Funeral Home in Ramsey.

Memorial donations may be made to the Department of Cardiology at Children's Hospital Boston; childrenshospital.org; or a check made payable to Children's Hospital Boston, and mailed to Children's Hospital Trust, 1 Autumn St. #731, Boston, MA 02215-5301.