Maria N. Donnelly, a homemaker, volunteer and active churchwoman, died Jan. 7 of cancer at Gilchrist Hospice Care. The longtime Homeland resident was 58.
In his eulogy, the Very Rev. Constantine Moralis, who is the dean of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, described Mrs. Donnelly as "a beautiful story of love, faith, determination, patience, perseverance, humor, compassion, charm, caring, respect and most importantly a story of absolute devotion."
He concluded by saying, "Maria truly put her misery aside and grasped on to every moment of life. She was a fighter and victorious, and will always be a winner and a hero to the fullest extent in our hearts."
Maria Nicolas, the daughter of Greek immigrant parents, was born in Baltimore and raised on Rueckert Avenue in Hamilton.
She graduated from Northern High School in 1970 and then attended Towson University. After leaving college, she worked for three years as a buyer for Stewart's department store before taking a job as a legal secretary for Adelberg Adelberg and Rudow.
In 1980, she went to work at Alex. Brown & Sons, where she was an assistant and secretary in the mergers and acquisitions department.
After her 1983 marriage to Michael P. Donnelly, a Baltimore attorney, the young couple settled in Bolton Hill, where she edited and wrote the Northern Bolton Hill Association Newsletter.
They moved to Homeland after the birth of the couple's first child in 1984.
Mrs. Donnelly was a longtime active communicant of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation, where she was a member of the Philoptochos Society and the cathedral's Women's Guild.
The Philoptochos Society supports a variety of outreach efforts, some of which included area food banks as well as the Franciscan Center, Our Daily Bread and the Maryland Food Bank.
The society also helps those in need with expenses such as rent and supports the library at George Washington Elementary School in Pigtown. It also works with the homeless and collects and distributes clothing and boots to the needy.
"Anything we did, Maria was involved in it. If you said I need something done, she did it. She never said no to me," said Koula Sauvakis, a former president of the Philoptochos Society and a girlhood friend.
"We've known each other since we were 8. We grew up together in Hamilton and went to Garrett Heights Elementary School and Northern High School together. We went to church and Greek classes together," said Ms. Sauvakis.
"When Maria died, it was like losing a piece of myself. Her death is a blow to me and our church community, where she was active in a quiet and unassuming way," she said.
She recalled visiting Mrs. Donnelly at the hospice a few days before Christmas.
"We were discussing a Philoptochos project when she asked me to hand her her checkbook. She wrote me a check and when I took it back downtown to the society, we were all in tears," she said.
"She was always extremely kind and generous. Church was a big part of her life and in Maria's own unique way, she did so much for so many," she said.
Anna Z. Pappas, who lives in North Roland Park, was a fellow church member and friend of Mrs. Donnelly's for more than 20 years. They also served on the Women's Guild together.
"Maria was very much a large supporter of our projects in the beautification and refurbishing of the church and fundraising efforts. She was tenacious in her efforts and always right there," Mrs. Pappas said.
Mrs. Donnelly, who enjoyed gourmet cooking and entertaining, shared an interest in fine cuisine with Mrs. Pappas. The two women established a Women's Guild Wine and Dine Group.
"Maria had a keen appreciation and talent concerning fine food and wine. She wanted to share the experience and thus began the Wine and Dine events for our cathedral community," Mrs. Pappas said.
Father Moralis recalled in a telephone interview that Mrs. Donnelly was a "very honorable person who lived for her church and her family. She was very caring and loving. She was truly one of a kind."
Mrs. Donnelly liked to quote former Oriole baseball star John Lowenstein.
"Like John, she said she never needed to be a star, she 'just wanted to twinkle a little,'" her husband said.
Services were Tuesday at her church.
Also surviving are a son, Frank G. Donnelly, a college student at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va.; a daughter, Irene M. Donnelly, a Charles Village artist; her mother, Irene Nicolas of Mays Chapel; and a brother, Minas Nicolas of Hamilton.