Gail Ann Urban O'Donnell

Gail O'Donnell passed away at the age of 71 on Tuesday, November 28th from complications of a severe and rare bacterial infection. Gail was born in Chicago, IL in 1952 to parents Lucille (1920-2006) and Joseph (1907-2002) and shared a rambunctious childhood with her older brother Joseph (1944-1992) and the other children of Polish, Croatian, and Lithuanian immigrants in her neighborhood. She endured a fateful injury at the age of 16 when she was struck by a car and narrowly survived. Her time in the hospital and especially the poise and compassion of the nurses who treated her inspired her to become a nurse, forgoing her earlier ambition to become an artist. In 1970 she moved far from her life in the Midwest to attend the University of Miami, becoming the first in her family to go to college. While playing (and arguably, hustling) in the school's pool hall, she met James O'Donnell working behind the counter. Despite some initial impatience waiting for him to acknowledge their obvious connection, they quickly fell in love and were married 1979. Soon after graduating with her B.S.N., she found a position as a Registered Nurse at Miami Children's Hospital (now Nicklaus Children's Hospital) where she had begun as Student Nurse several years earlier. Over the course of nearly 50 years, she saved untold numbers of infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. It is no exaggeration to say that entire schools' worth of Miami children across multiple generations were touched by her skillful and empathetic care, and it remained a great source of pride for her to continue her work well beyond the age of retirement. In her time outside of the NICU, she was known for her boundless energy and enthusiasm for bringing family and friends together--almost always single-handedly organizing all the festivities for the occasion. She enjoyed sports, murder mysteries, culinary adventures, and the art she had put aside so many years earlier. Gail is survived by family that loved her so much— her husband James (b.1953), and children Kathryn (b.1980), James (b.1986), and Patrick (b.1991) as well as son-in-law Eduardo (b.1980), grandson Julian (b.2016.), and cousins Kenneth (b.1950) and Donald (b.1943) A funeral service is scheduled at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, December 4, 2023 at the Mausoleum Chapel at Forest Meadows Cemetery-Central, 4100 NW 39th Ave, Gainesville, FL 32606. The visitation is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow the funeral service.

Gail Ann Urban O'Donnell

November 6, 1952 - November 28, 2023