CAPT William P. Donnelly , USN (Ret.) 1965 Memorial Scholarship Fund

The Pat Donnelly Memorial Scholarship Fund

To honor the memory of this outstanding midshipman, officer, teammate, role model, friend and family man, and at the request of his widow, Missy, the Naval Academy Foundation Athletic & Scholarship Programs division is establishing the Pat Donnelly Memorial Scholarship. This fund will provide financial assistance to well-deserving students selected as Naval Academy Foundation scholars. Please consider a contribution to this scholarship fund to help keep Pat’s memory alive.

William P. (Pat) Donnelly ’65 lost a courageous, nearly 10-year long battle with Alzheimer’s on 24 July 2020. Pat was an outstanding two-sport scholar-athlete and leader, who was humble, kind and extremely well-liked.

In football, Pat started at fullback for three years and in 1963 scored three touchdowns against both Notre Dame and Army.  He was selected to play in two post-season All Star games including one against the NFL Champion Cleveland Browns. In lacrosse, despite never having played prior to entering the Academy, Pat went on the make first team All American and won the Schmeisser Award as the top defenseman in the country.

Academically, Pat graduated number 20 out of 802 Class of 1965 classmates. During his Navy career in the Civil Engineering Corps, he earned two post-graduate degrees at Cambridge University in England and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. He was also the first class president of the GREAT Class of 1965.
Despite all of his talent, ability and accomplishments Pat was very humble and unassuming. He was among the most well-liked and well-respected members of his class and his athletic teams.