Stephen Joseph McDonald

Steve was born on June 28, 1952, to Edward and Dorothy (Sharkey) McDonald, in Newton, Massachusetts. He spent his early years in Newton Centre, where he attended Sacred Heart School, and began to develop his lifelong passion for tinkering with classic English sports cars and dressing in sartorial elegance. He went to Bentley College, in Waltham, Massachusetts, where he earned a degree in management (In later years he returned to Bentley as an adjunct professor). Steve lit out for the bright lights of New York City, and the go-go world of advertising. He spent 20 years managing international and domestic accounts such as Smirnoff, JPMorgan Chase, Colgate-Palmolive, Harry Winston Diamonds, AT&T, and others, at ad agencies including J. Walter Thompson; Ted Bates; Scali, McCabe, Sloves; and Lowe & Parters.

He later changed careers, starting an executive recruiting practice, retained both by ad agencies and advertisers to fill senior positions in account management, brand, digital and social strategy, planning, and project management. He later led these areas of recruiting at McGarryBowen, and served as a Senior Recruiter at Verizon, helping build its in-house ad agency. He excelled at finding talent, and he loved connecting people.

Like many New Yorkers, Steve bade farewell to Manhattan in the Pandemic and moved with his longtime partner, Alyssa Alexandra Donati, her daughter, Sophia, and her mother, Adele, to New Canaan, Connecticut. Saturday mornings, you would likely find Steve tooling around the winding backroads of Fairfield County on his Ducati Tricolore.

Steve could spot the exquisite object hiding in the clutter of a junk shop. He had a knack for doing screwy cartoon voices, loved collecting old boxing photos, fly fishing, the banjo, a fine meal with a good red, and a peaty single malt.

He will remain in the hearts of Alyssa, Sophia, his sisters, Catherine Hall, Dorothy (Stephen) Roth, his brothers, Michael (Sharon), William (Rebecca), and his nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother, Ned.

The family will hold a private gathering to honor his memory.