Dr. Donald MacDaniel

Dr. Donald L. MacDaniel, 96, of Connersville, died Thursday evening, February 28, 2019, at Hickory Creek of Connersville. An Indianapolis native, Don was born May 26, 1922, to Cedric Bernard and Margaret Rose Bonney MacDaniel. About two weeks after he was born, his family moved to Connersville where his father established his practice of Optometry. Don attended St. Gabriel Elementary School and was a 1940 graduate of Connersville High School. For the next three years, he attended Notre Dame University. Don enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and was assigned to the 1661st Engineer Utility Detachment Unit. He arrived in Normandy, France shortly after the German forces after the liberation of Paris where Don was stationed until the after the German surrender. Following his military service, Don graduated in 1949 from Northern Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago. He returned to Connersville to join his father’s practice and began his own optometry practice a few years later. Don studied art at Earlham College in Richmond and at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis. He later received a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University East in Richmond. Don was the last surviving founding member of the Whitewater Valley Art Association. He was a member of St. Gabriel Church, 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus, longtime member of the Kiwanis Club and Indiana Optometry Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion. He had also had served on the Fayette Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees and was a member of the Elks Lodge. Don was an avid reader and had a passion for sailing and making wine. In his leisure time, he enjoyed fishing, hunting, photography, traveling and participating in road rallies. Jazz music, especially swing was Don’s favorite. Don is survived by his children: R. Patrick MacDaniel of Houston, Texas; Elizabeth Jo “Beth” MacDaniel of Clarion, Pennsylvania; James Michael MacDaniel and his wife, Jennifer of Oakland, California; Bill MacDaniel of Connersville, Donald Edward MacDaniel of Santa Rosa, California; his grandchildren and their spouses: Jennifer Lynne Severns and David of Panaca, Nevada; Rachel Christine Stealey and Scott Shurer of South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Aidan Connor MacDaniel, of Oakland, California; great-grandchildren: Alexander and Andrew Severns, James Brokaw-Stealey; nieces, nephews and many friends. In addition to his parents, Don is preceded in death by his wife who died in 1994, the former Ethel Edith Yeaw whom he married May 28, 1948 in Connersville; and his brothers: James Edward and William Eugene MacDaniel. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 9, 2019, at Saint Gabriel Church with Reverend Dustin Boehm officiating. Interment will follow in Dale Cemetery with military honors presented by the Fayette County Veterans Council. Friends may visit at Showalter Blackwell Long Funeral Home, Myers Chapel, Connersville from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and after 10 a.m. Saturday at the church. Memorial contributions may be made to the Whitewater Valley Art Association, 402 Central Avenue, Connersville, 47331.