Donald Paxton McPherson III, of Baltimore, died unexpectedly Sunday morning, November 20, 2022, at home. Ann Teaff, his wife of 26 years, was by his side. A gentleman and a gentle man, Don was kind and thoughtful, a person of the highest integrity who in all aspects of his life was a man for others.
Born in Gettysburg, August 9, 1941, Don was the son of the late Janet Russell McPherson and The Honorable Donald Paxton McPherson Jr. He attended elementary school in Gettysburg and graduated from Gilman School in Baltimore. He went on to graduate from Princeton University and Columbia University Law School. He kept lifelong friends from these experiences.
Don had deep roots in Gettysburg. His fifth great-grandfather, Robert McPherson, born in Scotland, immigrated to the Pennsylvania Colony in 1729 and was among the first Scots-Irish Presbyterian settlers to inhabit what is now Adams County. Edward McPherson, Don's great-grandfather, became an influential citizen of Gettysburg. He studied law with Thaddeus Stevens, served as a U.S. Congressman, was appointed Clerk of the House of Representatives, edited a major newspaper, owned a farm on the Gettysburg battlefield, and became a close ally of Lincoln and advocate for the abolition of slavery.
Following in a line of public servants, Don's father practiced law in Gettysburg for over 50 years, served in the Pennsylvania State Senate, and was appointed by President Eisenhower to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Don's mother also came from early colonists who settled for many generations in Branford, Connecticut. The only woman in her Yale University Law School Class of 1935, she practiced law with her father in New Haven before her marriage.
Don joined Piper and Marbury, now DLA Piper, where he practiced law for 55 years with a specialty in commercial real estate. Mentoring young associates as he had been mentored was one of Don's pleasures and special gifts. Don was respected for his sound judgement, insightful wisdom, and above all a humble, uncluttered, and pure dedication to his clients, the firm, and his colleagues.
Don was also an attentive family man, home for dinner with his wife and children each night and active with them on the weekends. He took great interest in his children's interests, as well as their friends. One of the greatest sadnesses of Don's life was losing his son David in 2016.
From David, Don had one grandson, Tyler, with whom Don was as attentive and delighted as a father. He and Ann took Ty on many enriching adventures, but it was also everyday moments like driving Tyler to school or watching his squash lessons that created a meaningful bond for both of them.
While a practicing lawyer, Don devoted equal priority to pro bono work, providing legal assistance for people in need through Maryland Volunteer Lawyers, work he continued his whole life. After retirement he also joined Just Advice, a project of the University of Maryland School of Law that aims to increase justice by providing free legal advice to those without the resources to hire a private attorney. Don assisted nearly 1,000 individuals and was working on a legal document for one of his Just Advice clients the evening before he died.
Shortly after Don's marriage to Ann Teaff in 1996, Ann became Head of School at Harpeth Hall in Nashville, and Don was a faithful supporter of her career there. He worked in Baltimore and traveled to Nashville, never missing a weekend together in 16 years. He took pleasure in attending Harpeth Hall events, enthusiastically cheering on the girls and taking interest in faculty and alumnae as well. Don's pride in Ann was such that he often had tears in his eyes when she spoke at Harpeth Hall events.
Don valued his community, and he worked for it. Living in one house his whole adult life, Don served on numerous Roland Park Civic League and Community Foundation committees, provided pro bono legal assistance for the restoration of the historic Roland Park Water Tower, and was an early champion of the Hillside Park initiative that turned a private 20-acres into the first city park of its size in Baltimore in more than a century. On the board of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, he helped restore Baltimore's historic Washington Monument. In Gettysburg, Don was a major advocate for the Adams County Historical Society's new museum to open in April 2023.
A quintessential lifelong learner, Don read widely. In fact, his last purchase the afternoon before he died was a better small light by which to read in the early morning hours. In his forties he started taking courses through Johns Hopkins University's adult education, and immediately several friends joined him. Later, they created their own program, The Iliad – courses in history, music, drama, literature, art history, and music taught by academics from leading institutions in the Baltimore and Washington area. Thousands of people have since taken those courses.
Don was an athlete who swam, ran, or walked every morning. In the company of family and friends Don also traveled extensively in the U.S. and six continents. His favorite mode of travel – to be closer to people and the land – was bicycle. He organized numerous self-supported bike trips with friends, pedaling by day and camping at night.
Don will make his final trip to his beloved Gettysburg for a funeral service at Gettysburg Presbyterian Church on December 2 at 11 a.m., followed by burial at Evergreen Cemetery. There will be a reception following at Don's grandmother's apartment behind the home place at 250 Carlisle Street.
On December 17, at 11 a.m. there will be a memorial service in Baltimore at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bolton Hill, followed by a reception with the family at the Mount Vernon Club, 8 West Mount Vernon Place.
Don was predeceased by his son, David Russell McPherson, and his brother, Scott McPherson. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ann Teaff of Baltimore; daughter, Cynthia McPherson (James Ryder) of El Cerrito, Calif.; his first wife, Barbara Breslau (Ray) of Orinda, Calif; brother, Edward McPherson (Sally) of Dallas, Texas; grandson, Tyler McPherson of Baltimore, the son of deceased son David; David's former wife, Anna Gyarmathy of Baltimore, and Tyler's siblings, Richard and Flora, whom Don embraced as his own when Anna and the family moved from Hungary to Baltimore in 2021; a niece, nephew, and two great-nieces.
Friends may consider making a memorial gift to the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church or the Adams County Historical Society.
Born in Gettysburg, August 9, 1941, Don was the son of the late Janet Russell McPherson and The Honorable Donald Paxton McPherson Jr. He attended elementary school in Gettysburg and graduated from Gilman School in Baltimore. He went on to graduate from Princeton University and Columbia University Law School. He kept lifelong friends from these experiences.
Don had deep roots in Gettysburg. His fifth great-grandfather, Robert McPherson, born in Scotland, immigrated to the Pennsylvania Colony in 1729 and was among the first Scots-Irish Presbyterian settlers to inhabit what is now Adams County. Edward McPherson, Don's great-grandfather, became an influential citizen of Gettysburg. He studied law with Thaddeus Stevens, served as a U.S. Congressman, was appointed Clerk of the House of Representatives, edited a major newspaper, owned a farm on the Gettysburg battlefield, and became a close ally of Lincoln and advocate for the abolition of slavery.
Following in a line of public servants, Don's father practiced law in Gettysburg for over 50 years, served in the Pennsylvania State Senate, and was appointed by President Eisenhower to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Don's mother also came from early colonists who settled for many generations in Branford, Connecticut. The only woman in her Yale University Law School Class of 1935, she practiced law with her father in New Haven before her marriage.
Don joined Piper and Marbury, now DLA Piper, where he practiced law for 55 years with a specialty in commercial real estate. Mentoring young associates as he had been mentored was one of Don's pleasures and special gifts. Don was respected for his sound judgement, insightful wisdom, and above all a humble, uncluttered, and pure dedication to his clients, the firm, and his colleagues.
Don was also an attentive family man, home for dinner with his wife and children each night and active with them on the weekends. He took great interest in his children's interests, as well as their friends. One of the greatest sadnesses of Don's life was losing his son David in 2016.
From David, Don had one grandson, Tyler, with whom Don was as attentive and delighted as a father. He and Ann took Ty on many enriching adventures, but it was also everyday moments like driving Tyler to school or watching his squash lessons that created a meaningful bond for both of them.
While a practicing lawyer, Don devoted equal priority to pro bono work, providing legal assistance for people in need through Maryland Volunteer Lawyers, work he continued his whole life. After retirement he also joined Just Advice, a project of the University of Maryland School of Law that aims to increase justice by providing free legal advice to those without the resources to hire a private attorney. Don assisted nearly 1,000 individuals and was working on a legal document for one of his Just Advice clients the evening before he died.
Shortly after Don's marriage to Ann Teaff in 1996, Ann became Head of School at Harpeth Hall in Nashville, and Don was a faithful supporter of her career there. He worked in Baltimore and traveled to Nashville, never missing a weekend together in 16 years. He took pleasure in attending Harpeth Hall events, enthusiastically cheering on the girls and taking interest in faculty and alumnae as well. Don's pride in Ann was such that he often had tears in his eyes when she spoke at Harpeth Hall events.
Don valued his community, and he worked for it. Living in one house his whole adult life, Don served on numerous Roland Park Civic League and Community Foundation committees, provided pro bono legal assistance for the restoration of the historic Roland Park Water Tower, and was an early champion of the Hillside Park initiative that turned a private 20-acres into the first city park of its size in Baltimore in more than a century. On the board of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, he helped restore Baltimore's historic Washington Monument. In Gettysburg, Don was a major advocate for the Adams County Historical Society's new museum to open in April 2023.
A quintessential lifelong learner, Don read widely. In fact, his last purchase the afternoon before he died was a better small light by which to read in the early morning hours. In his forties he started taking courses through Johns Hopkins University's adult education, and immediately several friends joined him. Later, they created their own program, The Iliad – courses in history, music, drama, literature, art history, and music taught by academics from leading institutions in the Baltimore and Washington area. Thousands of people have since taken those courses.
Don was an athlete who swam, ran, or walked every morning. In the company of family and friends Don also traveled extensively in the U.S. and six continents. His favorite mode of travel – to be closer to people and the land – was bicycle. He organized numerous self-supported bike trips with friends, pedaling by day and camping at night.
Don will make his final trip to his beloved Gettysburg for a funeral service at Gettysburg Presbyterian Church on December 2 at 11 a.m., followed by burial at Evergreen Cemetery. There will be a reception following at Don's grandmother's apartment behind the home place at 250 Carlisle Street.
On December 17, at 11 a.m. there will be a memorial service in Baltimore at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bolton Hill, followed by a reception with the family at the Mount Vernon Club, 8 West Mount Vernon Place.
Don was predeceased by his son, David Russell McPherson, and his brother, Scott McPherson. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ann Teaff of Baltimore; daughter, Cynthia McPherson (James Ryder) of El Cerrito, Calif.; his first wife, Barbara Breslau (Ray) of Orinda, Calif; brother, Edward McPherson (Sally) of Dallas, Texas; grandson, Tyler McPherson of Baltimore, the son of deceased son David; David's former wife, Anna Gyarmathy of Baltimore, and Tyler's siblings, Richard and Flora, whom Don embraced as his own when Anna and the family moved from Hungary to Baltimore in 2021; a niece, nephew, and two great-nieces.
Friends may consider making a memorial gift to the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church or the Adams County Historical Society.
Donald Paxton McPherson III, of Baltimore, died unexpectedly Sunday morning, November 20, 2022, at home. Ann Teaff, his wife of 26 years, was by his side. A gentleman and a gentle man, Don was kind and thoughtful, a person of the highest integrity who in all aspects of his life was a man for others.
Born in Gettysburg, August 9, 1941, Don was the son of the late Janet Russell McPherson and The Honorable Donald Paxton McPherson Jr. He attended elementary school in Gettysburg and graduated from Gilman School in Baltimore. He went on to graduate from Princeton University and Columbia University Law School. He kept lifelong friends from these experiences.
Don had deep roots in Gettysburg. His fifth great-grandfather, Robert McPherson, born in Scotland, immigrated to the Pennsylvania Colony in 1729 and was among the first Scots-Irish Presbyterian settlers to inhabit what is now Adams County. Edward McPherson, Don's great-grandfather, became an influential citizen of Gettysburg. He studied law with Thaddeus Stevens, served as a U.S. Congressman, was appointed Clerk of the House of Representatives, edited a major newspaper, owned a farm on the Gettysburg battlefield, and became a close ally of Lincoln and advocate for the abolition of slavery.
Following in a line of public servants, Don's father practiced law in Gettysburg for over 50 years, served in the Pennsylvania State Senate, and was appointed by President Eisenhower to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Don's mother also came from early colonists who settled for many generations in Branford, Connecticut. The only woman in her Yale University Law School Class of 1935, she practiced law with her father in New Haven before her marriage.
Don joined Piper and Marbury, now DLA Piper, where he practiced law for 55 years with a specialty in commercial real estate. Mentoring young associates as he had been mentored was one of Don's pleasures and special gifts. Don was respected for his sound judgement, insightful wisdom, and above all a humble, uncluttered, and pure dedication to his clients, the firm, and his colleagues.
Don was also an attentive family man, home for dinner with his wife and children each night and active with them on the weekends. He took great interest in his children's interests, as well as their friends. One of the greatest sadnesses of Don's life was losing his son David in 2016.
From David, Don had one grandson, Tyler, with whom Don was as attentive and delighted as a father. He and Ann took Ty on many enriching adventures, but it was also everyday moments like driving Tyler to school or watching his squash lessons that created a meaningful bond for both of them.
While a practicing lawyer, Don devoted equal priority to pro bono work, providing legal assistance for people in need through Maryland Volunteer Lawyers, work he continued his whole life. After retirement he also joined Just Advice, a project of the University of Maryland School of Law that aims to increase justice by providing free legal advice to those without the resources to hire a private attorney. Don assisted nearly 1,000 individuals and was working on a legal document for one of his Just Advice clients the evening before he died.
Shortly after Don's marriage to Ann Teaff in 1996, Ann became Head of School at Harpeth Hall in Nashville, and Don was a faithful supporter of her career there. He worked in Baltimore and traveled to Nashville, never missing a weekend together in 16 years. He took pleasure in attending Harpeth Hall events, enthusiastically cheering on the girls and taking interest in faculty and alumnae as well. Don's pride in Ann was such that he often had tears in his eyes when she spoke at Harpeth Hall events.
Don valued his community, and he worked for it. Living in one house his whole adult life, Don served on numerous Roland Park Civic League and Community Foundation committees, provided pro bono legal assistance for the restoration of the historic Roland Park Water Tower, and was an early champion of the Hillside Park initiative that turned a private 20-acres into the first city park of its size in Baltimore in more than a century. On the board of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, he helped restore Baltimore's historic Washington Monument. In Gettysburg, Don was a major advocate for the Adams County Historical Society's new museum to open in April 2023.
A quintessential lifelong learner, Don read widely. In fact, his last purchase the afternoon before he died was a better small light by which to read in the early morning hours. In his forties he started taking courses through Johns Hopkins University's adult education, and immediately several friends joined him. Later, they created their own program, The Iliad – courses in history, music, drama, literature, art history, and music taught by academics from leading institutions in the Baltimore and Washington area. Thousands of people have since taken those courses.
Don was an athlete who swam, ran, or walked every morning. In the company of family and friends Don also traveled extensively in the U.S. and six continents. His favorite mode of travel – to be closer to people and the land – was bicycle. He organized numerous self-supported bike trips with friends, pedaling by day and camping at night.
Don will make his final trip to his beloved Gettysburg for a funeral service at Gettysburg Presbyterian Church on December 2 at 11 a.m., followed by burial at Evergreen Cemetery. There will be a reception following at Don's grandmother's apartment behind the home place at 250 Carlisle Street.
On December 17, at 11 a.m. there will be a memorial service in Baltimore at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bolton Hill, followed by a reception with the family at the Mount Vernon Club, 8 West Mount Vernon Place.
Don was predeceased by his son, David Russell McPherson, and his brother, Scott McPherson. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ann Teaff of Baltimore; daughter, Cynthia McPherson (James Ryder) of El Cerrito, Calif.; his first wife, Barbara Breslau (Ray) of Orinda, Calif; brother, Edward McPherson (Sally) of Dallas, Texas; grandson, Tyler McPherson of Baltimore, the son of deceased son David; David's former wife, Anna Gyarmathy of Baltimore, and Tyler's siblings, Richard and Flora, whom Don embraced as his own when Anna and the family moved from Hungary to Baltimore in 2021; a niece, nephew, and two great-nieces.
Friends may consider making a memorial gift to the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church or the Adams County Historical Society.
Born in Gettysburg, August 9, 1941, Don was the son of the late Janet Russell McPherson and The Honorable Donald Paxton McPherson Jr. He attended elementary school in Gettysburg and graduated from Gilman School in Baltimore. He went on to graduate from Princeton University and Columbia University Law School. He kept lifelong friends from these experiences.
Don had deep roots in Gettysburg. His fifth great-grandfather, Robert McPherson, born in Scotland, immigrated to the Pennsylvania Colony in 1729 and was among the first Scots-Irish Presbyterian settlers to inhabit what is now Adams County. Edward McPherson, Don's great-grandfather, became an influential citizen of Gettysburg. He studied law with Thaddeus Stevens, served as a U.S. Congressman, was appointed Clerk of the House of Representatives, edited a major newspaper, owned a farm on the Gettysburg battlefield, and became a close ally of Lincoln and advocate for the abolition of slavery.
Following in a line of public servants, Don's father practiced law in Gettysburg for over 50 years, served in the Pennsylvania State Senate, and was appointed by President Eisenhower to the Interstate Commerce Commission. Don's mother also came from early colonists who settled for many generations in Branford, Connecticut. The only woman in her Yale University Law School Class of 1935, she practiced law with her father in New Haven before her marriage.
Don joined Piper and Marbury, now DLA Piper, where he practiced law for 55 years with a specialty in commercial real estate. Mentoring young associates as he had been mentored was one of Don's pleasures and special gifts. Don was respected for his sound judgement, insightful wisdom, and above all a humble, uncluttered, and pure dedication to his clients, the firm, and his colleagues.
Don was also an attentive family man, home for dinner with his wife and children each night and active with them on the weekends. He took great interest in his children's interests, as well as their friends. One of the greatest sadnesses of Don's life was losing his son David in 2016.
From David, Don had one grandson, Tyler, with whom Don was as attentive and delighted as a father. He and Ann took Ty on many enriching adventures, but it was also everyday moments like driving Tyler to school or watching his squash lessons that created a meaningful bond for both of them.
While a practicing lawyer, Don devoted equal priority to pro bono work, providing legal assistance for people in need through Maryland Volunteer Lawyers, work he continued his whole life. After retirement he also joined Just Advice, a project of the University of Maryland School of Law that aims to increase justice by providing free legal advice to those without the resources to hire a private attorney. Don assisted nearly 1,000 individuals and was working on a legal document for one of his Just Advice clients the evening before he died.
Shortly after Don's marriage to Ann Teaff in 1996, Ann became Head of School at Harpeth Hall in Nashville, and Don was a faithful supporter of her career there. He worked in Baltimore and traveled to Nashville, never missing a weekend together in 16 years. He took pleasure in attending Harpeth Hall events, enthusiastically cheering on the girls and taking interest in faculty and alumnae as well. Don's pride in Ann was such that he often had tears in his eyes when she spoke at Harpeth Hall events.
Don valued his community, and he worked for it. Living in one house his whole adult life, Don served on numerous Roland Park Civic League and Community Foundation committees, provided pro bono legal assistance for the restoration of the historic Roland Park Water Tower, and was an early champion of the Hillside Park initiative that turned a private 20-acres into the first city park of its size in Baltimore in more than a century. On the board of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, he helped restore Baltimore's historic Washington Monument. In Gettysburg, Don was a major advocate for the Adams County Historical Society's new museum to open in April 2023.
A quintessential lifelong learner, Don read widely. In fact, his last purchase the afternoon before he died was a better small light by which to read in the early morning hours. In his forties he started taking courses through Johns Hopkins University's adult education, and immediately several friends joined him. Later, they created their own program, The Iliad – courses in history, music, drama, literature, art history, and music taught by academics from leading institutions in the Baltimore and Washington area. Thousands of people have since taken those courses.
Don was an athlete who swam, ran, or walked every morning. In the company of family and friends Don also traveled extensively in the U.S. and six continents. His favorite mode of travel – to be closer to people and the land – was bicycle. He organized numerous self-supported bike trips with friends, pedaling by day and camping at night.
Don will make his final trip to his beloved Gettysburg for a funeral service at Gettysburg Presbyterian Church on December 2 at 11 a.m., followed by burial at Evergreen Cemetery. There will be a reception following at Don's grandmother's apartment behind the home place at 250 Carlisle Street.
On December 17, at 11 a.m. there will be a memorial service in Baltimore at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church in Bolton Hill, followed by a reception with the family at the Mount Vernon Club, 8 West Mount Vernon Place.
Don was predeceased by his son, David Russell McPherson, and his brother, Scott McPherson. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ann Teaff of Baltimore; daughter, Cynthia McPherson (James Ryder) of El Cerrito, Calif.; his first wife, Barbara Breslau (Ray) of Orinda, Calif; brother, Edward McPherson (Sally) of Dallas, Texas; grandson, Tyler McPherson of Baltimore, the son of deceased son David; David's former wife, Anna Gyarmathy of Baltimore, and Tyler's siblings, Richard and Flora, whom Don embraced as his own when Anna and the family moved from Hungary to Baltimore in 2021; a niece, nephew, and two great-nieces.
Friends may consider making a memorial gift to the Gettysburg Presbyterian Church or the Adams County Historical Society.
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