James Leslie McDonald, 80, of Champaign, passed away at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, July 28, 2008, at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.
Mr. McDonald was born on Jan. 13, 1928 in Greenville. He was the son of Harold and Lillie DeMoulin McDonald. He married Mary Buescher on June 23, 1951 in Oak Park. She survives.
Also surviving are two daughters, Dianne (Craig) Tennant-Rucker and Becky (Butch) Goddard and six grandchildren, Jamie (Jason) Tennant Sample, Austin Tennant, Shelley Goddard, Jack Tennant, Greta Goddard and Addie Tennant.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter, Susan Jane McDonald, and his brother, Bobbie Dee McDonald.
Jim McDonald graduated from Champaign High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force and played trumpet in the Air Force Band and earned his BS degree in engineering from the University of Illinois. He was an insurance agent for Miller's Mutual of Illinois for 35 years and then became a real estate agent for Cogdal and Hobbs, Urbana. He was a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda social fraternity and the First Presbyterian Church of Champaign. He was an active member of the Champaign-Urbana Kiwanis Club for many years, and served on the music committee.
Jim had a lifetime passion for music and was an avid Barbershopper. He belonged to the Champaign Chapter (Illini Statesman Chorus) of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), formerly the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc.), for over 50 years. In 1955, his quartet, the Kordallaires, won the Illinois District Championship. In recent years, he was a member of the popular quartet the Good Times Harmony Four, who both competed and frequently performed for service clubs, nursing homes, and other events in the Champaign-Urbana area.
Jim also enjoyed tennis, playing the trumpet, sailing, camping and hiking, playing ping pong and spending time at his Lake Sara cottage with his wife and family. Everyone who knew him benefited from his positive attitude, easygoing nature, and interest in learning about the world around him. He never knew a stranger.
News-Gazette, The (Champaign-Urbana, IL) — Thursday, July 31, 2008
Mr. McDonald was born on Jan. 13, 1928 in Greenville. He was the son of Harold and Lillie DeMoulin McDonald. He married Mary Buescher on June 23, 1951 in Oak Park. She survives.
Also surviving are two daughters, Dianne (Craig) Tennant-Rucker and Becky (Butch) Goddard and six grandchildren, Jamie (Jason) Tennant Sample, Austin Tennant, Shelley Goddard, Jack Tennant, Greta Goddard and Addie Tennant.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter, Susan Jane McDonald, and his brother, Bobbie Dee McDonald.
Jim McDonald graduated from Champaign High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force and played trumpet in the Air Force Band and earned his BS degree in engineering from the University of Illinois. He was an insurance agent for Miller's Mutual of Illinois for 35 years and then became a real estate agent for Cogdal and Hobbs, Urbana. He was a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda social fraternity and the First Presbyterian Church of Champaign. He was an active member of the Champaign-Urbana Kiwanis Club for many years, and served on the music committee.
Jim had a lifetime passion for music and was an avid Barbershopper. He belonged to the Champaign Chapter (Illini Statesman Chorus) of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), formerly the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc.), for over 50 years. In 1955, his quartet, the Kordallaires, won the Illinois District Championship. In recent years, he was a member of the popular quartet the Good Times Harmony Four, who both competed and frequently performed for service clubs, nursing homes, and other events in the Champaign-Urbana area.
Jim also enjoyed tennis, playing the trumpet, sailing, camping and hiking, playing ping pong and spending time at his Lake Sara cottage with his wife and family. Everyone who knew him benefited from his positive attitude, easygoing nature, and interest in learning about the world around him. He never knew a stranger.
News-Gazette, The (Champaign-Urbana, IL) — Thursday, July 31, 2008
James Leslie McDonald, 80, of Champaign, passed away at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, July 28, 2008, at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.
Mr. McDonald was born on Jan. 13, 1928 in Greenville. He was the son of Harold and Lillie DeMoulin McDonald. He married Mary Buescher on June 23, 1951 in Oak Park. She survives.
Also surviving are two daughters, Dianne (Craig) Tennant-Rucker and Becky (Butch) Goddard and six grandchildren, Jamie (Jason) Tennant Sample, Austin Tennant, Shelley Goddard, Jack Tennant, Greta Goddard and Addie Tennant.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter, Susan Jane McDonald, and his brother, Bobbie Dee McDonald.
Jim McDonald graduated from Champaign High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force and played trumpet in the Air Force Band and earned his BS degree in engineering from the University of Illinois. He was an insurance agent for Miller's Mutual of Illinois for 35 years and then became a real estate agent for Cogdal and Hobbs, Urbana. He was a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda social fraternity and the First Presbyterian Church of Champaign. He was an active member of the Champaign-Urbana Kiwanis Club for many years, and served on the music committee.
Jim had a lifetime passion for music and was an avid Barbershopper. He belonged to the Champaign Chapter (Illini Statesman Chorus) of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), formerly the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc.), for over 50 years. In 1955, his quartet, the Kordallaires, won the Illinois District Championship. In recent years, he was a member of the popular quartet the Good Times Harmony Four, who both competed and frequently performed for service clubs, nursing homes, and other events in the Champaign-Urbana area.
Jim also enjoyed tennis, playing the trumpet, sailing, camping and hiking, playing ping pong and spending time at his Lake Sara cottage with his wife and family. Everyone who knew him benefited from his positive attitude, easygoing nature, and interest in learning about the world around him. He never knew a stranger.
News-Gazette, The (Champaign-Urbana, IL) — Thursday, July 31, 2008
Mr. McDonald was born on Jan. 13, 1928 in Greenville. He was the son of Harold and Lillie DeMoulin McDonald. He married Mary Buescher on June 23, 1951 in Oak Park. She survives.
Also surviving are two daughters, Dianne (Craig) Tennant-Rucker and Becky (Butch) Goddard and six grandchildren, Jamie (Jason) Tennant Sample, Austin Tennant, Shelley Goddard, Jack Tennant, Greta Goddard and Addie Tennant.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his daughter, Susan Jane McDonald, and his brother, Bobbie Dee McDonald.
Jim McDonald graduated from Champaign High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force and played trumpet in the Air Force Band and earned his BS degree in engineering from the University of Illinois. He was an insurance agent for Miller's Mutual of Illinois for 35 years and then became a real estate agent for Cogdal and Hobbs, Urbana. He was a member of the Alpha Kappa Lambda social fraternity and the First Presbyterian Church of Champaign. He was an active member of the Champaign-Urbana Kiwanis Club for many years, and served on the music committee.
Jim had a lifetime passion for music and was an avid Barbershopper. He belonged to the Champaign Chapter (Illini Statesman Chorus) of the Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS), formerly the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. (Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America, Inc.), for over 50 years. In 1955, his quartet, the Kordallaires, won the Illinois District Championship. In recent years, he was a member of the popular quartet the Good Times Harmony Four, who both competed and frequently performed for service clubs, nursing homes, and other events in the Champaign-Urbana area.
Jim also enjoyed tennis, playing the trumpet, sailing, camping and hiking, playing ping pong and spending time at his Lake Sara cottage with his wife and family. Everyone who knew him benefited from his positive attitude, easygoing nature, and interest in learning about the world around him. He never knew a stranger.
News-Gazette, The (Champaign-Urbana, IL) — Thursday, July 31, 2008
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