John William MacDonald

John William (Mac) MacDonald, was born in Legazpi, Philippines, May 28, 1928, to Presbyterian missionaries. When the Japanese invaded in 1941 he and his family were captured and held for more than three years, before being rescued and freed on February 23, 1945.

 

            Coming to Missoula, John finished High School at Missoula County HS, then completed two years at U. of M. He enlisted in the Air Force for pilot training and received his commission just before the Korean War began. Between 1950 and 1969 he flew several different types of aircraft in support of the Korean War, the Cold War, and the war in Vietnam. In 1954 he married Cloie Cohen from Philadelphia, PA.

 

            He retired from the Air Force in 1969 and returned to Missoula. He completed his college education at the University of Montana before working at Sentinel HS as a Science Aide and then a teacher for several years.  In 1975 the family built a house and moved east of Stevensville where he lived until 1998.  After attending a Cursillo in 1978 he committed himself to Jesus and became very active in Cursillo and Walk to Emmaus movements.  John and his wife Cloie managed a video store in Stevensville for three years before opening their own shop, McVideo, in 1992. In 1996 they were chosen as Citizens of the Year for the town of Stevensville. Cloie died that December as a result of a car accident.

 

            In 1998, he married Nancy Nelson Taylor of Great Falls and they settled in Missoula. He remained active in Cursillo and Walk to Emmaus ministries with a special emphasis on prison ministry, and he made more than 20 trips to Russia to support the movements there.  He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, as well as the Senior Forum and the Aeronuts club and played the gut-bucket for the Addiction Recovery Ministry worship music team for many years.

 

            He is survived by his daughter and three sons and their spouses, three stepsons and their spouses, sixteen grandchildren and thirteen great-grandchildren.

 

A memorial service will be held on September 5th, at 11a.m., at the First Presbyterian Church in Missoula located at 235 South Fifth St W.

 

            John requested that rather than sending flowers, donations can be made to: The Margaret MacDonald Memorial Scholarship Fund, First Presbyterian Church, Missoula; Missoula 3:16 Mission; World Charitable Fund, PO Box 378, Marietta, GA 30061; or, better still, give time and service to a charitable organization of your choice.