Lenora ‘Dick’ McDonald, 93, of Vero Beach, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her five children and her devoted Shitzu Cappi, and her caregiver Jill Strollo, on Friday, July 24, at her home.
She is survived by her sisters Lt. Col. RNBSN (US Army-Ret.) Anne C. Deaven of Louisville, Kent., and Rosemary Bargmann of Lima, Ohio; her five children, Tom McDonald (Sheila), of Wickford, R.I.; Bill McDonald (Regina), of Killingworth, Conn.; Lenore McDonald of Oakland, Calif.; Jack McDonald (Sara), of Los Angeles, Calif., and Eileen O’Donnell (Bob), of Vero Beach; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
McDonald was born in Peoria, Ill., on Nov. 8, 1922. She and her late husband, Tom, set up more than a dozen households during their 56 year marriage, leaving their native Illinois with their young and growing family in tow for suburban homes in Birmingham, Mich., Akron, Ohio, St. Paul, Minn., and Cohasset, Mass., to follow Tom’s rising career in marketing and advertising.
In 1978, they purchased their first Vero Beach home as winter residents and eventually settled here permanently in the lovely beachside neighborhoods of Vero Beach.
She and Tom were active members of the Vero Beach Country Club before Tom passed in 2004.
In 2012, the family celebrated McDonald’s 90th birthday with her fellow residents and friends at Regency Park. She was an extraordinary, friendly, caring and devout woman who contributed her time and talents to her country as a cadette in the U.S. Coast Guard; and to local community and service organizations including the Vero Beach Garden Club; as an Auxiliary member at Indian River Medical Center; and as a member and officer of the Women’s Guild at Holy Cross Church in Vero Beach.
A memorial service will be held at Holy Cross Church, 500 Iris Lane, Vero Beach on Tuesday, July 28, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made in Lenora McDonald’s memory to the We Care Foundation of Indian River, P.O. Box 573, Vero Beach, FL 32961 or www.wecareofFLRC.org.
