MCDONALD, DURAN

Duran was born to Roy Lee McDonald and Alma Estelle Greene on May 19, 1941, on Rural Route 2 in Richmond County, NC. He graduated from Rockingham High School in 1959. He and his nine siblings learned the value of hard work from their parents on the McDonald family farm in Rockingham, NC. As he grew older, he sold shoes at Belk’s Department Store, drove the county school bus, and bagged groceries at Winn Dixie.

He earned an associate’s degree at Wingate University (1961) and subsequent bachelor’s in science at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (1963). Duran enlisted in the United States Navy in 1963 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in Newport, Rhode Island (1964), eventually retiring as a Commander (O-5). He served on the U.S.S. Yorktown (1962-1965) during the Vietnam war, earning three Bronze Stars and an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal.

Following a stint selling toilet paper with Scott Paper Company, he went on to attend University of Georgia for his MBA (1969) and found his love of numbers as a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch for the duration of his career.

While stationed in Long Beach, CA, Duran met Mary Ann from Springfield, Massachusetts, who became the love of his life and wife for 53 years. This unlikely duo, a tobacco-picking Southern Baptist from Rockingham and a shy Polish Catholic from the North, went on to have three children they adored, finding a middle ground in the Methodist Church.

You could tell how much he loved his children in all the ways he showed up for them: Jenny’s field hockey games, Matt’s basketball games, and Anna’s singing performances. He loved fly fishing with Matt and Derrick on the Snake River and always had a questionable follow-through on his golf swing.

While he relished in his children’s accomplishments and in his work, his greatest accomplishment by far was that of being “Papa” for a full 29 years, spanning seven grandchildren. Just as with his own children, he made each of his grandchildren feel like the most important person in the world.

Duran and Mary Ann were longtime members of Myers Park United Methodist Church. He started a Men’s Tuesday Morning group, served as a Stephen Minister, and was an active member of the Builder’s Class for over 50 years. In recent years, he spent his Sundays on Zoom with his Sunday school class, the 11 a.m. service, and ended the day with his family at 3 p.m.

He is survived by daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Jennifer McDonald Willard and Mr. Derrick Duane Willard; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. John Matthew McDonald and Mrs. Cherie Norton McDonald; daughter and daughter-in-law, Dr. Anna Greene McDonald and Ms. Angela Darice Key; and the large brood of grandchildren he so adored, Andrew McDonald Willard, Anna Grace Willard, Caroline Merritt McDonald, Mary Elizabeth McDonald, Charlotte Harding McDonald, Amina Greene Ahmad, and Hamza Greene Ahmad; and surviving sisters and brother, Aletta Lee McDonald, Joyce Dean McDonald, Alma Jeanette McDonald, Eugenia Anne McDonald, Deborah Kay McDonald, and Robert Carnie McDonald.

He was preceded in death by his mother and father, Alma Estelle Greene and Roy Lee McDonald; his brothers, Roy Marshall McDonald, Vernon Wayne McDonald, and Larry Edgar McDonald; and, his most beloved wife, Mary Ann Kuczynski McDonald. He has mourned her absence every day.

A service will be held at 3 p.m., on Friday, February 14, 2025, at Myers Park United Methodist Church, 1501 Queens Road, Charlotte, NC. The family will receive friends following the service in Jubilee Hall. The service will be livestreamed at: https://test.myersparkumc.org/worship-with-us/funerals/ for those unable to attend in person.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, the Wounded Warrior Project, or the Humane Society.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.