Donna Reid Connell

Donna Reid Connell

February 7, 1916 – April 12, 2015

On April 12, 2015 Donna Reid Connell passed away in Napa at age 99, having lived a long and meaningful life.  She was well known in Napa County as an educator and an advocate for early childhood education.

Donna was born in 1916 in Vallejo to parents Charles and Mary Elizabeth Reid. She lived in several cities following her father’s Navy path.  This talented young woman graduated from UC Berkeley in 1937 with a major in public speaking and a strong love of journalism.  She was the Women’s Editor of the Daily Californian and following graduation became an editorial assistant of a San Francisco magazine.

In 1940 Donna married John Connell, a graduate of UCLA.  John served as a Navy officer during WWII while Donna raised two young children on her own. In 1950 the family, now with three children, chose to settle in Napa.  They bought a ranch at the foot of Mt. George and quickly learned to raise chickens and sell eggs.  While living at Mt. George, their fourth child was born and Donna was a very busy country mom.

In 1952 Donna was recruited to be a Napa Valley teacher as the area grew quickly and teachers were in short supply.  She had a college degree but lacked teaching credentials or experience in education.  She accepted the challenge and spent the rest of her life fully committed to children and early-childhood education.  Along the way, she earned the teaching credentials and enjoyed the challenges of developing materials and strategies for teaching young children.  One of her fondest early teaching memories was her position at Wooden Valley, where she was the only teacher in a one-room kindergarten through sixth grade country school.

Driven to better her skills to improve education for students and their teachers, Donna earned a master’s degree in early childhood education, a reading specialist certificate, and an administrators credential.  A lifelong learner, she received her doctorate in education at age 60. 

She was instrumental in promoting legislative changes for early childhood education and became a state consultant in child development.  Refusing to slow down after retirement from Napa Unified School District at age 65, she made curriculum presentations throughout the state until age 88.  She was pleased that the early literacy program that she developed, Integrated Total Language (i t l), continued to be used 40 years after initial publication.  Many young people in Napa County gained their reading skills using this innovative and effective approach.

Donna’s greatest pride was her family.  She was predeceased by her husband, John Connell.  Donna is survived by her children, Jerry Connell (Marsha), Cindy Van Prooyen (Jan), Mary Booth (Jack), and Mike Connell (Sandra). She is also survived by seven grandchildren and nine great grandchildren. 

The family thanks the entire staff at Aegis for their loving care of Donna in the last years of her life.  A private burial will be conducted at Tulocay Cemetery.  Condolences and shared memories may be posted at www.tulocaycemetery.com.  Donations for scholarships in honor of Donna Connell to Napa County Branch, American Association of University Women, P.O. Box 10407, Napa, CA 94581; or Napa Valley Retired Teachers Association, P.O. Box 6286, Napa, CA 94581 will be greatly appreciated.

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