Louise Donaldson Celebrates Centennial Birthday

Most Laurel residents associate the surname Donaldson with funerals, but a very different kind of gathering will soon occur at the Donaldson Funeral Home on Talbott Avenue. In early November, four generations of Donaldsons will celebrate the 100th birthday of matriarch Louise V. Donaldson.

Born and raised in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, Louise was living in Laurel when she met DeWitt Donaldson, who had owned and operated his own funeral business in Laurel since the early 1930s. The two actually met at a funeral he had arranged for one of Louise’s relatives. They married in 1959 and raised two children, Diane and Jay, in the second-floor residence above the funeral home.

Louise obtained her own mortician’s license and the two successfully ran the business as a team, with Louise deftly handling many roles as a parent, homemaker, and businesswoman. “She was always there to support me and my sister with anything we got involved in,” Jay says. Louise also stayed active in the Laurel community and served as President of the Soroptimist International’s Laurel branch.

When DeWitt’s health declined and he moved to assisted living in the mid-1980s, Louise took on full operating responsibility for the business, with some assistance from Diane and Jay. Both had earned degrees in Mortuary Science at Catonsville Community College (now the Community College of Baltimore County). Later, Diane opted for a slight career change, becoming a professor of Mortuary Science at CCBC, while Jay eventually took over ownership of the business following his father’s death in 1989. He gives full credit to his mother, though, for the funeral home’s longevity.

“She is a smart businesswoman,” Jay says. “She saved the family business. In about 1995, we came close to shutting down, but she turned it around and built us back up to where we are today.” The Donaldson family now operates three funeral homes—in Laurel, Clarksville, and Odenton—as well as a pet cremation service based in Odenton.  The business officially became a three-generational one when Jay’s son, Cullen, followed in his footsteps. They both serve as morticians and owner/operators in a business that has served Laurel and its surrounding communities for over 94 years, largely because of Louise’s dedication and leadership.

Although Louise retired about 20 years ago, she retains an active mortician’s license. But most of her time is now focused on family, which grew over the years to include 6 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, all of whom live close by. In some ways, though, she still oversees the family business, as she still lives in the second-floor apartment overtop the funeral home on Talbott Avenue.

From all of us here at Voices of Laurel: Happy Birthday, Louise!