August 10, 1932 - January 11, 2019
Don McDonald passed away peacefully on the morning of January 11th, 2019 at the age of 86. He leaves to mourn his wife (Dianne) his children; Don (Kary), Patti (Bruce), and Rick (Sonia) as well as his grandchildren (Chelsea, Sara, Michael, Camille, Emma, Alex, Ryan, and great granddaughter, Mackenzie - all of whom he loved beyond words and was so proud of their accomplishments. He is survived by his sister, Joyce (late Ted), and brothers; Ian (Carmel) and Mike (Ann) and predeceased by his parents; Harry and Bessie, and sister Ruth (late Red).
Don was born in Abbotsford, graduating from Phillip Sheffield High School. He attended the U of Washington in 1952 and UBC from 1953-1957, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree. When articling in Cloverdale with Paul Rising & Co., Don earned recognition for placing highest in the province in the intermediate law examinations of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.
Near graduation, Don met the love of his life, Dianne Blacklock (also from Abbotsford) and they were married in April 1958. They first settled in White Rock where Dianne was teaching and Don articling before moving their young family back to Abbotsford in 1961.
At this time, Don opened his own accounting practice and it later became McDonald & Partners. Over the years, the firm grew, eventually merging with several CA firms before Don retired as a senior partner with KPMG in 1994.
Besides Dianne and his children, Don had two other great loves in his life; the first was Baseball. Don played both baseball and fastball in Abbotsford eventually playing third base for the UBC Thunderbirds Baseball Team. He enjoyed playing fastball in the Abbotsford Men's League for many years and was fortunate enough to play alongside his father and two brothers for several years. He later enjoyed volunteering his time coaching minor fastball and felt privileged to coach both his sons. Don's other great love was fishing. Don spent many hours as a boy and later with his children at local fishing holes along with trips to Campbell River.
Along with these hobbies, Don kept busy travelling, playing bridge, and gardening. He took great pride in all that he put his mind to. His vegetable garden grew legendary and his bridge game near "life master" in rank. Don and Dianne combined their love for travelling with many bridge tournaments in the Pacific North West and in Palm Springs.
Don enjoyed a great life. He was often heard to remark in a quiet dignified Lou Gehrig fashion, "I'm so lucky!" He considered himself to be the luckiest man on earth to have his health, a job that he loved, and all of his children and grandchildren living close by.
The McDonald family wish to express their deep appreciation for the great care that Don received at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and at the Mayfair Care home. Special thanks to Dr. Warkentin, Patient Care Director Marilyn Smart, and Care Aides, Anne and Grace.
No funeral service by request. A private family celebration of Don's life will be arranged at a later date.
He never looked for praises, he was never one to boast...
He just went on quietly working for the ones he loved the most.
His dreams were seldom spoken, his wants were very few...
And most of the time his worries went unspoken too.
He was there, a firm foundation, through all our storms of life...
A sturdy hand to hold on to in times of stress and strife.
A true friend we could turn to when times were good or bad...
One of our greatest blessings, the man that we called Dad.