OAK HILL WV--Clarence Shirley Donnelly, 87, of Oak Hill, Baptist minister and newspaper columnist, died Tuesday in Beckley Veterans Administration Hospital.
A native of Jackson County, he was an ordained Baptist minister and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia. He was pastor of Oak Hill Baptist Church for 21 years and of Crab Orchard Baptist Church from 1946 to 1971. He was chaplain of Beckley Veterans Administration Hospital until 1976. The author of a book of historical columns published last year, (1981) "Yesterday, and Today, a Keepsake", he continued writing until about six weeks ago. He wrote more than 20 publications as well as historical notes on Fayette County history and the founding of Oak Hill. He also wrote books on the Hatfields and the McCoys and on David Creigh, a Greenbrier County martyr.

He founded the Fayette County Historical Society, serving as its president for 12 years. He had been president of the West Virginia Historical Society and the Oak Hill Historical Society. He was a member of the board of directors of the Merchants and Miners National Bank of Oak Hill from 1957 until his resignation in 1981. Subsequently, he was named honorary director for life. He was a member and a charter member of Oak Hill Rotary Club.

Surviving: wife, Mrs. Lessie Keffer Wooten Donnelly, stepson, Willis Walter Wooten of Dallas, Texas, stepdaughters, Mrs. Pat Ramsey of Charleston, WV, Mrs. Lana Cunningham of Parkersburg, WV, sister, Mrs. Mossie Jones of Charleston, WV; four step grandchildren.

Service will be 2 P. M. Friday in Oak Hill Baptist Church with the Rev. Randolph F. Johnson, the Rev. David White, and Sen. Robert C. Byrd officiating. Entombment with full military honors will be in Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens, Prosperity, WV. Friends may call from 1 to 9 P. M. today at Tyree Funeral Home, Oak Hill, and at the church one hour before the service.


From the Charleston Gazette, August 1982