O'Donnell family honored for generations of service

Intermountain Catholic

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Michael O'Donnell, of Neil O'Donnell and Sons Mortuary in Salt Lake City recalls serving as a page boy for Bishop Duane G. Hunt when O'Donnell was just five years old. His grandfather, Neil O'Donnell, entombed the body of the diocese's first bishop, Lawrence Scanlan, when he died in 1915. Michael re-entombed Bishop Scanlan when the Cathedral of the Madeleine was renovated between 1991 and 1993. Bishop Scanlan's body was moved from a crypt below the Cathedral to its present place behind the Cathedral's original main altar during rededication ceremonies Feb. 21, 1993. IC photo by Barbara S. Lee

SALT LAKE CITY — Michael P. O’Donnell has been in awe of the Diocese of Salt Lake City’s Cathedral of the Madeleine since he served as a page boy for Bishop Duane G. Hunt in a ceremony when O’Donnell was just five years old. The building in which his parents were married, he was baptized and received his First Communion and from which his parents were buried, continues to fascinate him.

Even though O’Donnell and his mortuary staff, including his daughter, Katie, are in the Cathedral of the Madeleine often, he said, "I am still struck by its beauty and the sense of spirituality that permeates the Cathedral.

O’Donnell and his family will be featured at the Bishops’ Dinner Sept. 25 at the Grand America Hotel. The annual fund raising event for the care and maintenance of the Cathedral of the Madeleine honors the grand structure’s history and its people, and prepares for its future.

"We are truly honored to be a part of this year’s Bishop’s Dinner," O’Donnell said in a Sept. 18 interview with the Intermountain Catholic.

Since 1889, Neil O’Donnell and Sons Mortuary has served the people of Salt Lake City. For some time the only Catholic mortuary in town, the O’Donnells have seen to the needs of many of the Catholic families going back generations.

Michael himself began working for the mortuary at 17, transporting flowers to vigils, funerals, and cemeteries.

"The Cathedral of the Madeleine has been a big part of my family’s life," he said. "I was married there, and our three daughters were baptized there. Going back, my grandfather, Neil, entombed Bishop Scanlan in the basement of the Cathedral when the bishop died, then I re-entombed him after the Cathedral was renovated in 1993."

Some of his first memories, O’Donnell said, were having to be very good during Mass, "or be pinched on the knee. Dad was an usher and we went to every Christmas Midnight Mass and every Easter Vigil Mass."

Having attended Cathedral Elementary School, O’Donnell said he recalls there being an aftershock of a mild earthquake one day at the end of daily Mass. As the frightened students headed for the exits, Father (later Msgr.) William H. McDougall called them all back and had them take their seats again, knowing that going outside the Cathedral could have meant injury.

"I also remember being an altar boy during the pre-Vatican II days," he said. "The Latin was difficult. I even remember the big missals we had with Latin on one side and English on the other."

O’Donnell’s grandmother, Stella Divine O’Donnell, was the first female licensed to embalm bodies in the State of Utah. She was licensed in 1935, and died suddenly in 1937, before Michael was born.

"My father’s aunt, Catherine O’Donnell, told me her funeral Mass was at the Cathedral, and people were lined up around the block," he said.

Proud of his mixed Irish and Italian background, O’Donnell said his maternal grandmother was very devout, walking to daily Mass at the Cathedral from her home at 500 East and 300 South. "(Diocesan Vicar General) Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald celebrated her funeral Mass and gave a wonderful homily about what a great cook she was."

O’Donnell said although he saw the Cathedral almost every day during its renovation, he was stunned by its beauty at the completion of the project.

"The interior was much brighter and more welcoming," he said. "Before the renovation, the building was dark and dominating; almost morose. Now, everything is so pleasant.

"As a kid, the Cathedral made me feel intimidated, but now, with all the colors intact, whether it’s packed with people or I’m the only one in there, I can’t help but feel a great sense of spirituality."

For further information about the Bishop’s Dinner or to make reservations, call 801-328-8941.