John McDoniel

John McDoniel passed away in Merced, California on November 19, 2018. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Doris Virginia and their children, Ann Pedroso, Jack McDoniel, Ruth Goodwin, and Carol McDoniel; daughter-in-law Marianne and sons-in-law Manuel and Jim; four granddaughters, Melissa, Sara, Marian, and Kelly, and nine great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his youngest sister, Carolyn Sue McDoniel of Brookland, Arkansas.

John and Virginia moved to Merced in 1977 where John served as manager of the Merced office of the Department of Motor vehicles until his retirement in 1993. He started his career at the DMV in 1963 in Lancaster, California, also serving at the Winnetka and San Bernardino offices before taking the helm in Merced.

John Wesley McDoniel was born in December of 1929 in Indiana. He served in the Air Force for one year and attended Georgetown College in Kentucky, finishing in 1952. He then moved to California to attend Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. After completing seminary in 1957 he served as pastor of churches in Quincy and Tuolumne before joining the DMV. In the 1970s John became a certified tax preparer and enrolled agent of the IRS and operated his own income tax preparation business which he continued well into retirement.

While living in Merced, John served as pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church of Livingston, Midpines Baptist Church in Mariposa, and First Baptist Church of Snelling. When not pastoring, John and Virginia were long-time members of Calvary Baptist Church in Merced and First Southern Baptist Church in Winton. John loved music and was an accomplished musician. He led the choir at several of the churches he attended. John was pleased to officiate the weddings of his great-niece Stephanie, granddaughter Sara, and son Jack.

In addition to his church involvement, John enjoyed gardening and visiting Yosemite. He loved making people laugh and could always be counted on for a quick joke or kind word. He and Virginia made sure their children and grandchildren attended college and were a constant source of love and support.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, November 24 at 1:00 pm at Winton First Southern Baptist Church, 7264 Myrtle Avenue, Winton, California.