Courtesy CCCP
Judge Nancy McDonnell
The Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas has confirmed that Judge Nancy McDonnell has died. Details were not provided beyond the fact that the 62-year-old McDonnell passed away Tuesday afternoon with her husband, John Kosko, by her side.
Judge McDonnell has served on the Common Pleas bench since 1997 and served as the court's first female Administrative and Presiding Judge from 2006-2009. McDonnell recently presided over the Drug Court, and the McDonnell Center, a community-based correctional facility, was dedicated in her name. She lived in Lakewood.
“Judge McDonnell was, quite simply, one of the strongest persons I have ever known,” said Administrative and Presiding Judge Brendan J. Sheehan, in a statement provided to the media. “This is a sad day for our Court and Judge Nancy McDonnell’s extended personal and professional family. However, we, and the citizens of Cuyahoga County, were fortunate to have had her on our Bench and in our lives.”
Per her court bio, McDonnell graduated from the Catholic University of America and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Before joining the Bench in 1997, she served as an Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor in the Major Trial Division and was a Magistrate in the Lakewood Municipal Court.
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