William Edward McDonald

Bill had a lifelong passion for playing and writing music. Besides his work in hotel catering, he was a screenwriter, wrote a couple of books, filmed and produced a few movies, and became a columnist for a local paper, a job of which he was very proud. But, along with his music, he found his true calling as a comedy writer for radio and television. He was particularly pleased with how many jokes he had accepted as a freelance writer for Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.

Bill was born April 10, 1954 in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and lived there until his father retired in 1975. High school and college were spent in the US but the experience of living in Arabia made a profound impact on Bill. He valued the people he knew there and the knowledge gained from other cultures and ways of life. Through his humor, wit, and kind nature, he connected with people easily all his life. He found his soulmate in his wife, Mary, whom he knew for 40 years. He will be greatly missed.

He is survived by his wife, two sisters, and a brother (and their spouses), as well as nieces, nephews, and cousins.