Donald Ray McNurlin Sr.

Don McNurlin entered service with the US Army Air Corps in 1946, remaining on active duty from the creation of the US Air Force until he retired at Tyndall AFB, Florida in 1967, having distinguished himself repeatedly as an aircraft crew chief, trainer and supervisor. His aviation experience helped the Air Force transition from piston engines and propellers to supersonic jets and beyond. Don continued to serve our country as part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, completing an additional 15 years before finally retiring to Florida.

Don was both Protestant and a member of the Masons; he joined his first Lodge in Grand Forks, ND; later he was with lodges in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, and Eastern Kentucky.

Don McNurlin was a devoted husband and loving father. He married Lois Virginia Pruitt in 1951; they remained together until Lois passed in 2013. The youngest, and last, of Reverend John Quincy and Pearl (Buckley) McNurlin’s children, he is survived by 3 children: Donald Ray Jr., David Bruce and Virginia Lee (Hackney), 3 grandchildren, Donald Francis & Erin Suzanne McNurlin, and Jessica Clark (Gray); and 2 great-grandchildren, Destiny Wey & Maycie Gray, as well as several cousins, nephews and nieces. Don's eldest daughter, Beverly Fay (Coffey), mother of Jessica (Gray), left us in 2014.

A Celebration of Don’s Life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 15, at Robert Toale & Sons Funeral Home (1221 53rd Ave. East, Bradenton, Florida 34203). A gathering of friends and family will begin one hour prior to service time. Don’s final resting place is next to his beloved wife, Lois, at Manasota Memorial Park in Bradenton, Florida. Always thoughtful, loving and caring, he was an exemplary man and will be greatly missed.