William "Bill" Donaldson

William “Bill” Donaldson passed away on August 22, 2022 at the age of 94.  He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., November 18, 1927, to George Donaldson and Mildred (Allen) Donaldson.  In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a brother, George Donaldson Jr.

Bill is survived by his loving wife of almost 69 years, Jeannette “Jean” Donaldson; daughter Barbara Muench and husband Donald, Cincinnati, OH; son John Donaldson, Mansfield, OH; six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Also surviving is his “buy one wife get one wife free”, Jean’s twin sister, Joan McGraw and her children, Jeff, Doug, Bruce and Elizabeth.

He was a devout member of St. Therese Catholic Church, Wrightsville Beach, NC.

Bill was a World War II Veteran. Upon graduating from Brooklyn Preparatory High School, he entered the U.S. Navy V5 Aviation Program and attended Bethany College (W.Va.) and the University of Pennsylvania before going to flight training. He soloed on VJ Day and continued training until the program was discontinued. After returning to civilian life, he attended St. John’s University (N.Y.) and received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.

Bill’s business career spanned the pharmaceutical industry with responsibilities in advertising, product management, marketing and communications. Starting in 1953 at Pfizer (N.Y.) and was later lured to Merrell National Laboratories (Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals), Cincinnati, OH, from where he retired in 1999 as Director of Professional and Public Communications.  He was then contacted by Glaxo Pharmaceutical (Research Triangle Park, NC) and agreed to a consultancy in public affairs and communications until completely retiring in 2008.

While working in Cincinnati, Bill, Jean and family resided in the Village of Indian Hill where Bill served on the Mayor’s Green Areas Advisory Committee. He was also active with the Village Boy Scout Troop as committee chairman and participating in many backpacking and campout activities with his son. Also, while in Cincinnati, Bill was an usher for over 20 years at St. Gertrude’s Catholic Church.

Bill and Jean relocated from Ohio to Porters Neck Country Club, Wilmington, NC in 1997. They both had a love of the ocean and were frequent visitors to the Carolina Coast on vacation trips.

Another activity Bill and Jean enjoyed was travel, especially cruising which they found relaxing and exposing them to interesting parts of the world. Bill also enjoyed the on-going challenge of gin rummy with Jean.

Bill was a man of many interests: golf, baseball, fishing, photography and gardening. But his strongest interest and involvement was woodcarving. He was a member of the National Wood Carvers Association and a very active member of the Cape Fear Woodcarvers Club in Wilmington. He received many awards for his wood sculptures and found it personally rewarding for donations to fundraisers. He exhibited, published and instructed in the art of woodcarving.

In 2015 Bill and Jean moved to Plantation Village where they enjoyed the amenities, especially the woodshop.

A funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Therese Catholic Church in Wrightsville Beach at 10:00 am on Tuesday, August 30, 2022.  Bill will be interred at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cincinnati, OH on September 9, 2022.

Condolences may be shared with the family at www.andrewsmortuary.com