Donald Duncan MacKinnon

Duncan grew up in Toronto, Canada where he attended elementary, secondary school (Upper Canada College) and university. In June 1961 he graduated from the University of Toronto, with Honors, in Electrical Engineering and left Canada to work for the Link Division of Singer in Binghamton NY on flight simulator technology. In September 1962, he entered Cornell University in Ithaca NY to do graduate work in electrical engineering with emphasis on control system and computer studies.

After graduating with a Ph.D. in June 1966, he left Cornell to work at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory in Cambridge MA, famous for the development of inertial navigation and the guidance and control systems for the Apollo moon landing mission. At the Laboratory, he developed automatic landing system concepts for passenger aircraft, space telescopes and the Deep Submergence Rescue vehicle (which was used to clandestinely tap Russian undersea communication cables during the cold war).

In March 1972, he left Boston to work in Washington for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration of the Department of Transportation. While there, he directed the development of technology for advanced automated urban transportation systems. After leaving the government in 1982, he worked at Satellite Business Systems on communication satellite technology and services. On leaving Satellite Business Systems, he decided to focus on his hobby turned profession, designing and building houses. In all he designed and built 5 houses almost singlehandedly.

In addition to engineering and building he was a talented artist and photographer. While in high school, he designed sets for Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. In college he was an avid photographer entering international photographic salons. He was an enthusiastic sailor on Chesapeake Bay and offshore, piloting three sailboats from Bermuda to Annapolis, MD.

He leaves behind his wife, Tina Chen; his step-daughter, Elizabeth El-Nattar; and his grandchildren, Lilly, Anna, and Ramsey.

A visitation for Donald will be held Wednesday, June 8, 2022 from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM at Murphy Funeral Homes, 1102 West Broad Street, Falls Church, VA 22046, followed by a funeral service at 3:30 PM.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.murphyfuneralhomes.com for the MacKinnon family.