Jack E. McDonald

Jack E. McDonald, age 85 and long-time resident of Tecumseh, Mich. passed away on September 19, 2019 under the care of Kindred Hospice at Ashley Court of Brighton, Mich. where he had been a resident for the past 19 months.  Jack was born July 22, 1934 in Adrian, Mich. to David and Velma McDonald (Waltz).  He was a graduate of Adrian High School where he excelled in sports, was an all-state athlete in three sports, named to the Adrian High School Athletic Hall of Fame, and during a recent ceremony to honor the 1952 varsity football team was introduced as “perhaps the greatest athlete every to wear the Adrian Maple.”  Following high school, Jack attended Michigan State College (University) for one year on a football scholarship and played briefly for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL before joining the U.S. Army in 1956. While in the Army he served in the Signal Corps in Germany, played Club Football, and earned several medals as a Marksman. On December 5, 1958 Jack married Norma Jean Warner at United Presbyterian Church in Palmyra, Mich.  Jack and Norma celebrated 61 years of marriage together. Jack became a journeyman tool and die maker, working many years at the GM Fisher Body Plant in Tecumseh and finished his career with GM at the Lansing, Mich. Oldsmobile Plant. Jack was an avid hunter and fisherman, had a passion for golf, kept a large vegetable garden, and after retirement enjoyed tinkering in his man-cave garage and traveling to visit his children and grandchildren.

In addition to his wife Norma, Jack is survived by his children, daughter Victoria A. Novak (Rick) and their daughters Megan Schutt (Adam) and Melissa; daughter Kristine K. Nelson (Bob) and their three sons Scott, Alex, and Sean; son Scott G. McDonald (Denise) and their children Griffin and Emily; sisters-in-law Shirley Benz of Onsted, Mich. and Sharon McDonald of Adrian; brother-in-law Edd Phillips of Moss, Tenn.; and numerous nieces and nephews and several cousins. He was preceded in death by both his and Norma’s parents, brothers Robert and Larry, and sisters Betty Hayes (Forrest), Loretta Peglow (Dick), Marilyn Boyle (Robert) and Mary Kurtz (Louie) and their husbands, and brother-in-law William Benz.

Family and friends will be received 3-4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019 at the Anderson–Marry Funeral Home in Tecumseh, with a memorial service at 4:30 p.m. on the same day. Jack will be laid to rest in a private family inurnment ceremony at Brookside Cemetery, Tecumseh.  The family would like to thank all of the caregivers who provided assistance and comfort to Jack over the past few years. Memorial donations can be made in Jack’s name to Hospice of Lenawee County. Envelopes are available at Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Tecumseh Chapel. You may send condolences to the family at andersonfuneralservices.com.