Wilma McDonald

Wilma was born August 12, 1927 to Ida and Dallas Barker in Mt. Vernon Indiana. Wilma moved to Muncie with her parents as a small child and went to Muncie Central High School. In 1946, she met John McDonald who had recently returned from duty with the United States Army Air Forces, after dating for four years they were married in June of 1950. For the next sixty-four years, she and John were a solid team, as Wilma said I fell in love with him just like that! She lost the love of her life in 2014.

Her sisters Wanda Hahn, of Muncie and Joyce McAllister of Costa Mesa California also preceded Wilma in death. Her oldest son John Edward McDonald III (wife Patricia) and their three children, Marisa, Michael, and Julie survive Wilma, along with two great grandchildren, as well as her son David.

Anyone who knew Wilma knew she loved her family very much. As Johnny was, growing up she was a Cub Scout Den Mother, assisted in folding papers for a paper route and in general was active in all of Johnny’s endeavors. When David was growing up, you could find Wilma at the little league baseball field, or at a band concert, never one to stand on the sideline she was the treasurer for Daleville Little League, and then served more than one term as President of the Daleville Music Boosters. If that were not enough, she would also be found with her husband at a model airplane contest. Wilma used to say when she and John first met “Wilma if you love this man, you need to learn to like model airplanes” and for almost seventy years, she was involved!

Wilma loved to work and be around people, after High School Wilma worked at Stillmans Department Store in Muncie, after Johnny was born in 1951, she worked for Mel and Betty Grad at the Fashion Shops after approximately twenty-five years she purchased one of the stores. Wilma then started a new adventure, where she owned, and operated the Fashion Corner for the next twenty-five years. Wilma met many people through her store and simple loved everyone that came in, or worked for her. She was always proud of her window displays and received awards for those. When Wilma decided to retire at age seventy, she went to work “part time” which for her was 38 hours a week for Mike and Vicki Gribble, at the young age of seventy-three Wilma finally decided it was time.

For many years, Wilma was very active in the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) and enjoyed meeting people and sharing experiences along the way.

Anyone who ever met Wilma knew she never felt she was getting old, she would always say “I may be getting older, but I am not getting old” she always believed if you sat your mind to something, you could achieve it. She believed there was a song for everything and was never afraid to sing along. She instilled in her sons that you should always say please and thank you, after all, it does not cost you anything. Wilma also believed that going to work was more than work, if you could not have a smile, a laugh, or some fun during the day well you were not doing what you enjoyed.

Wilma was a wonderful lady who will be missed immensely by her family.

Services for Wilma will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 19, 2019, in Elm Ridge Funeral Home, 4600 West Kilgore Avenue, Muncie, Indiana, 47304, with Pastor Glenn Greiner officiating. Burial will follow in Elm Ridge Memorial Park.

Family and friends may call from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. on Thursday at Elm Ridge Funeral Home.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.elmridgefuneralhome.com.