Eugene Cary O'Donnell Sr., 82, businessman

Eugene Cary O'Donnell Sr., 82, founder of Mesa Technical Associates Inc., died of congestive heart failure at his home in Cherry Hill on Saturday.

Mr. O'Donnell started his Haddonfield company, a manufacturers' representative for computer hardware and military communications systems, in 1964. He worked there until he retired in 1995, handling projects including the communications and camera systems for the Gemini and Apollo space programs, Eugene Cary O'Donnell Jr. said.

"He was a successful businessman and he raised and educated seven children, putting them all through college, a great accomplishment," his son said.

Cary O'Donnell, as he was known, was born in Rockville Center, Long Island, N.Y., the youngest of five children. He attended Oceanside High School but left to enlist in the Army Air Force during World War II. He served as a B-29 gunner and later guarded German POWs in Denver.

Mr. O'Donnell subsequently received his high school diploma from a New York preparatory school and, in 1951, earned his bachelor of arts degree in finance from Bonaventure University.

He worked for eight years with RCA in Camden, as a buyer in the records division and later in electronics.

Mr. O'Donnell was also the unofficial head of the "Mountwell Avenue gang," a group of neighbors and friends who would gather at his Haddonfield home each week for a barbecue or another get-together.

"He loved to sit on his front porch, and on any given warm Sunday afternoon, in late spring and summer, he'd have 30 to 40 people over," his son said. "Those were great times."

His passions were his family and fishing at Long Beach Island. Mr. O'Donnell also enjoyed hunting for geese and ducks and participated in hunting competitions with his Labrador retrievers, a breed he loved raising.

He was a volunteer for the House of Charity in Haddonfield and a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Mr. O'Donnell's wife of 29 years, Anna, died in 1984. Besides his son, he is survived by six daughters - Anne, Margaret, MaryEllen and Kathleen O'Donnell; Susan M. Sobolewski; and Eileen Costello - and seven grandchildren.

Friends are invited to visit tonight from 7 to 9 at the Hinski-Tomlinson Funeral Home, 81 Haddon Ave., Haddonfield, and tomorrow from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at Christ the King Church at 200 Windsor Ave., Haddonfield. A funeral Mass will follow at 10 a.m., with burial at New St. Mary's Cemetery in Bellmawr.

Donations may be made to Voorhees Animal Orphanage, Box 1363 Voorhees, N.J. 08043.