Margaret Ann McDonnell

Margaret Ann “Margie” McDonnell, 83, of Leonardtown, MD (formerly of Shrewsbury, PA), passed away on March 21, 2026 at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital in Leonardtown, MD, with her family at her side.

She was born on March 12, 1943 in Baltimore, MD to the late Thomas J. McDonnell, Sr. and Margaret Mary (nee: Kliem) McDonnell. She is a graduate of Seton Catholic High School in Baltimore, MD.

Margie loved all kinds of crafts, including ceramics, jewelry making, crocheting, cross stitch, and tole painting. Often Margie and her daughter would join forces in a new craft project to sell in the fall to earn some extra spending money. During the 1990s and 2000s, Margie traveled with BE friends to Ireland, Nova Scotia, Alaska, Aruba, the Caribbean, Branson, MO, Hilton Head, SC, and to several beaches on the East Coast. She loved going to Skyline Drive, especially in the fall. She traveled often to wherever her daughter’s family was stationed including North Carolina, Virginia, and one of her favorites, Monterey, CA. More recently while in Southern MD, Margie enjoyed gardening, painting cement garden art, birdwatching, reading, completing word searches, and spending time on the deck in the back yard enjoying nature. She enjoyed observing local wildlife, especially deer and wild turkeys. Margie was a life-long dog lover, an excellent dog mom to many breeds, and leaves behind her beloved dog, Daisy. Most of all, Margie loved spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She was quick to let them know how proud she was of their accomplishments and of their loving nature. She kept up with everyone’s birthdays and was always one to reach out to relatives, friends, and Facebook acquaintances to offer encouraging words when someone was going through a rough time. Her smile lit up the room and her hearty laugh was infectious. Although she was deaf in her later years, Margie did her best to keep up communication via text message and loved watching action movies that required less focus on closed captioning.

Working since her high school graduation, Margie had several jobs after starting at Social Security in 1961 and then moved into data entry since she excelled on a keyboard. In 1974, Margie began her dedicated career with Automatic Data Processing (ADP) for over 28 years, retiring as a manager in 2003. After living in Parkville and Perry Hall, MD for many years, she became a resident of Shrewsbury, PA from 2001 to 2017 to live closer to her sister. While living in Shrewsbury she was an active member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in New Freedom, PA. She served as a past president and active team member for the Beginning Experience (BE) Ministry, a group for separated/widowed/and divorced people. In 2017, Margie moved to St. Mary’s County to live with her daughter. Being a life-long devout Catholic, Margie loved that her last years would be spent in a place called “St. Mary’s.”

Margie’s greatest joy was spending time with her family. She is survived by her children: Christine Chase and Mike Schwarzkopf, Jr, both of Leonardtown, MD; her sister, Kathleen Polek (Michael) of Glen Rock, PA; brother, Thomas J. McDonnell, Jr. of Dunedin, FL; grandchildren: Stephanie Schwarzkopf (Rocco), Cody Chase (Helen), Jacob Chase (Sarah), Jake Schwarzkopf (Allie), and Luke Schwarzkopf; great-grandchildren: Logan Famolaro, Maddison Famolaro, Teagan Famolaro, Finn Famolaro, Cecilia Chase, Lily Chase, Sophia Chase, Violet Chase, Felicity Chase, and one more on the way; and many extended family and friends.

In addition to her parents, Margie is preceded in death by her brother, James McDonnell.

Family will receive local friends on Monday, March 30, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Brinsfield Funeral Home, 22955 Hollywood Road, Leonardtown, MD 20650. Additionally, family will receive friends on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 315 North Constitution Avenue, New Freedom, PA 17349. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Reverend Louis McHale at the church at 11:00 a.m. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.

Serving as pallbearers will be: Michael Polek, Eric Polek, Rocco Famolaro, Jake Schwarkopf, Luke Schwarzkopf, and Logan Famolaro.

Memorial contributions in Margie’s name may be made to Second District Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Inc. (https://sdvfdrs.org/), P.O. Box 1, Valley Lee, MD 20692 or St. Mary’s Animal Welfare League (https://smawl.org/), P.O. Box 1232, Leonardtown, MD 20650.

Condolences to the family may be left at www.brinsfieldsfuneral.com.

Arrangements by Brinsfield Funeral Home, P.A., Leonardtown, MD.