Samuel Jackson Donley Jr.

Samuel Jackson Donley, Jr. was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on May 9, 1936, to Samuel Jackson Donley and Doris (Dolly) Donley. He passed away peacefully on March 4, 2026, at his beloved farm, Fertile Plains at Molers Crossroads, under the care of Hospice of the Panhandle.

From early childhood, Sam spent every free moment on the family farm and knew he wanted to be a farmer. After graduating from North Hagerstown High School in 1954, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech). A member of ROTC, he entered the Army Reserve in Martinsburg, West Virginia, upon graduation in 1958 and was called to active duty during the Berlin Wall and Bay of Pigs crises. He retired from the reserves as a Lieutenant.

Sam operated a diversified farm with dairy cows, swine, sheep, and crops. To support his family, he supplemented farm income through substitute teaching, truck driving, managing a gun club, and working as a crop insurance adjuster. He remained deeply involved in his community as a fifty-year member of the Jefferson County Farm Bureau, twelve years on the Jefferson County Planning Commission, and through service on the boards of Elmwood Cemetery in Shepherdstown and the Eastern Panhandle Land Trust. He was also a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the local chapter of the Sons of the Confederacy. Committed to lifelong learning, he continued his agricultural education through the West Virginia Extension Service and was respected as a progressive and skilled farm manager.

Sam took greatest pride in his family. He is survived by his wife, Lane; daughters Diana Dlynn Bello (Arturo) and Elaine Ann Oliver (Mark); son Samuel Jackson Donley, III (Barbara); and daughter-in-law Rene Walton Donley. He leaves eight grandchildren—Jeremiah (Julie) Morgan, Erica (James) Boston, Amber (Joshua) Householder, Danielle (Jonathan) Watson, William Jackson Oliver, Tyler Clark Donley, and Trevor John Donley—and eight great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his former wife, Patricia Clark Stickler, and many extended family members. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother William Clayton Donley, his son Shannon Clark Donley, and his grandson Matthew Hayes.