Donald Patrick MacDonald (“Mac”/”Pat”) of Burlington, Vt., was recalled to the Head Office in the Sky by the owner on August 6, 2026, for a retrofit. In the Mac way, he wrote his own obituary.
Mac arrived in Orange, N.J., on March 22, 1943, and set about harassing the good citizens. The firstborn son of Donald and Mary (Morrison) MacDonald, he grew up in South Orange, N.J., and summered in Granville, N.Y., at the family “farm.” At Our Lady of Sorrows School, the good nuns were perplexed by his learning style, yet to the amazement of all, he graduated high school within the allotted time frame.
He romped around Florida playing baseball, then headed north to New York City as a newspaper representative, spending weekends in Vermont skiing, fishing, hiking and carrying on.
In 1963, Mac took his father’s advice and volunteered for conscription, serving as a scout with the United States Army, 3rd Battalion, 6th Infantry Recon Platoon in Berlin, Germany, and briefly in Vietnam. It was a great time and a learning experience. ’Nuff said. He returned in 1966.
Mac settled in Burlington with army buddies and Rutland County friends, sparing his long-suffering relatives his raucous lifestyle. They worked, skied, fished, caroused, graduated from Champlain College and carried on irreverently.
He carried his free spirit and love of learning into every career: Burlington police officer, co-owner of an automotive transmission shop, industrial chemical salesperson and welcome guide at the Burlington waterfront.
Mac’s great love was baseball. He helped bring professional baseball to Vermont with the Vermont Reds, Vermont Expos, and then Lake Monsters, spending his summers at Centennial Field. Active in youth sports statewide, he served the Burlington Amateur Hockey Association as scheduler, tournament facilitator and board member. When Andrew and his friends wanted to keep playing baseball, Mac founded and led Burlington Babe Ruth Baseball, continuing long after his children were grown as Vermont Babe Ruth Baseball District 1 coordinator and state advisor. Fittingly, one of Mac’s last causes was the Bring It Back campaign to restore baseball at the University of Vermont.
For much of his last decade, Mac met up with friends at Kru Coffee Shop and the Burlington Unitarian Church.
Mac married Julie Russell in 1973 (divorced in 1999); together they raised Angela and Andrew.
He leaves his daughter, Angela Gowans (Robert) of Beverly, Mass., and Montpelier, Vt.; his son, Andrew MacDonald (Courtney Sikora) of Nashua, N.H.; his brother, James MacDonald, and sister-in-law Linda Cavalluzzo, of Arlington, Va.; his sister Jill Davidson of Poulsbo, Wash.; and several nieces and nephews. His greatest pride was his five grandsons: Tristan, Dylan and Liam Timpone (Angela’s); and Colin and Grayson MacDonald (Andrew’s).
Mac was preceded in death by his parents; his sister Mary-Ann Kopie; his brother-in-law, Michael Kopie; and his sister-in-law Linda MacDonald. He spent his final 18 months at the Ethan Allen Residences, cared for by a devoted staff. The family will have a private service in the fall.
To his grandsons: Carry on and treat everyone and everything the way you want to be treated. Do good work and have fun doing it. Live with dignity and respect. Keep your head up, stick on the ice, or, if on the ballfield, look to the sky, and you will do fine. Finally, leave the world a better place than you found it. Love, Grandpa Don