Sam Donnell

Funeral services for Sam Donnell, 95, of Chireno will be held at 2:00 pm on Friday, May 16, 2025, at Laird Funeral Home, officiated by Kenneth Donnell. Interment will follow at Lower Melrose Cemetery. A visitation will be held prior to the service from 1:00 to 2:00 pm on Friday, May 16, 2025, at Laird Funeral Home. Mr. Donnell passed away on May 9, 2025, in Chireno. He was born on October 16, 1929, in Huntington to the late Sam Irvin and Connie (Anderson) Donnell.

Billy Sam Donnell was born to Sam Irvin Donnell and Connie Anderson Donnell in Huntington, Texas, on October 16, 1929. On May 9, 2025, at the age of 95, he slipped quietly and peacefully from this life. 

Sam met his loving wife of 73 years, Alice May Goff (Tootie) in Angleton, Texas, and together they raised four children: Kenneth Edward, Connie Elizabeth, Billy Sam Jr., and Joseph Richard.

After coming to southeast Texas from Huntington, Sam worked at Dow Chemical for a while, but as soon as he could, he fulfilled his youthful goal of becoming a truck driver. He began driving 18-wheelers and drove all over North America for over 30 years.

Sam was raised on a farm near Huntington, and in 1965 he bought land near Melrose, Texas, to return to his roots. While he continued driving, he and Tootie built a house there and later retired to their hilltop home.

Sam is preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Connie Donnell, and two sisters, Marie Shannon and Jerry Nichols Alford.

He is survived by his loving wife, Alice Donnell; son Kenneth Donnell and wife Alida; daughter Connie Delaney and husband Kelly, son Billy Donnell and wife Sheila, and son Joe Donnell and wife Diana; 11 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in the name of Sam Donnell may be made to Harbor Hospice Foundation, 3406 College Street, Beaumont, TX 77701.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Sam Donnell, please visit our floral store.