Hugh O'Donnell
Hugh O'Donnell, '41 (economics), of Menlo Park, July 24, at 89. A member of Theta Xi, he participated in two Japanese-American Student Conferences held in both countries before World War II. He enlisted in the Navy and received an officer's commission to serve in combat as an ensign and later a lieutenant in the Southwest Pacific. After the war, he moved to Paris to attend the Sorbonne on the GI Bill. He spent the next five years traveling the world: He crossed the Atlantic by freighter, the Syrian Desert by bus, India by train and Brazil by the Amazon. He played for a Chilean basketball team, lived in a Hindu ashram, spent several hours in a jail in Zaire and met Josephine Baker for a drink at a Paris bistro. Back in the United States, he trained as a foreign exchange trader and worked with Aramco, the Bank of California and Crocker Bank, where he spent the majority of his career in international banking. In retirement, he served as director of development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula. He also gave his time to the Knights of Malta, the San Carlos Adult Day Care Center, the Sierra Club of Palo Alto-Menlo Park and many other organizations. He was a gifted athlete, spoke several languages and had an optimistic nature. Survivors: his wife of 54 years, Anne; his sons, Michael and Peter; and four grandchildren.