Cynthia Ann Michaelson, wife of Professor Mike O'Donnell, passed away Feb. 4, 2022, at their Northfield home after a long battle with cancer. Michaelson was a trained journalist who served as a substitute teacher for many years in south-central Minnesota schools.
She first met O'Donnell, who has been teaching journalism and digital media arts at St. Thomas since 1999, when she was as a copy editor at the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa and he was a sportswriter for the paper.
Michaelson is survived by her husband, Michael O'Donnell; daughters Frances O'Donnell (William Blakeley) of Auburn, Alabama, and Dana O'Donnell (Patrick Vernon) of San Diego; brothers Steve (Sher) Michaelson of Williams Bay, Wisconsin, and David (Lori) Michaelson of Granville, Illinois; her beloved aunt Lora Lockhart of Ottawa, Illinois; and dozens of nieces, nephews, cousins, and sisters- and brothers-in-law.
No services will be held. Memorials or donations should be made to the ThreeSixty Journalism program at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
