Elizabeth "Bess" McDonnell was the daughter of Michael J. McDonnell, born in County Galway, Ireland, and Nancy J. Thomas of Pennsylvania. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio where the McDonnell family had settled after emigrating from Ireland. Her parents went west to Washington in the 1880's. Bess, her mother and her sister Pearl spent the rest of their lives in Seattle. She married Donald A. McDonald, a lawyer who later became a superior court judge, in 1907. They had three children: Frederick, an Episcopalian priest, Elizabeth, who married George H. Parsons III, and Nancy, who died in infancy.

Related Items:
Pictures of Bess and her sister Pearl, and their father Michael J. McDonnell.
Obituaries for her son Frederick, daughter Elizabeth (McDonald) Parsons and aunts Mary (McDonnell) Scanlon and Kate (McDonnell) Mullen.

Mc Donald
Elizabeth T. McDonald, 11 West Aloha, August 15. Mother of Rev. Frederick A. McDonald, Rusaka, Zambia, Africa and Mrs. George H. Parsons, Seattle. Sister of Mrs.¹ Pearl E. McDonnell, Seattle. Four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Member of Bethany Presbyterian Church, Delta Gamma Sorority, Women�s University Club and Queen Anne Orthopedic Guild. Services 11 a. m., today, Saturday, at the Bethany Presbyterian Church. Under the direction of Arthur A. Wright and Son. Interment, Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. Memorials to Children�s Orthopedic Hospital.