Obituaries

Lois Lee King McDonald

Photo of Lois Lee King McDonald
Lois Lee King McDonald, 85, an Arkansas public school teacher, mother of seven sons and a United Methodist minister's wife for 62 years, died Thursday, Dec. 19, 2013, at Fox Ridge Senior Living Center in North Little Rock. Born August 29, 1929, in Phoenix, Ariz., she grew up in Conway, Ark., graduating high school there before attending Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas) and earning her bachelor's degree from Hendrix College. She was known for her unwavering support of her husband and his ministry, for her quick smile and healthy sense of humor, and for an undying love of her large and inclusive family. To her dying days, she maintained an optimistic disposition and a strong belief in the God-given goodness of all people. In 1950, she married Rev. Charles P. McDonald Jr. Over the years she gave birth to six sons and took in a seventh as they traveled the "Methodist circuit" to churches and appointments all over Arkansas, including Holly Grove, Ozark, Pocahontas, DeWitt, Rogers, Fort Smith, Searcy, Fayetteville, West Memphis, Conway, Cave City, Paragould, Bear Creek, and Jacksonville. They also moved to Las Vegas, N.M. in 2004-06, where the Rev. McDonald served as interim pastor of the First United Methodist Church. In between and after raising "the boys," Lois attended the University of Arkansas, earned her teaching certification and taught at schools in Rogers, Farmington and West Memphis. She is preceded in death by her parents, Chester and Beulah King, her sister Betty Welch, and a foster son, David Driver. Survivors include her sisters-in-law, Betty Lilly of Tulsa, Okla., and Mary Price of Fort Worth, Texas; six sons, David McDonald of Little Rock, Ron McDonald of Memphis, Don McDonald of Memphis, Tom McDonald of Las Vegas, N.M., Jim McDonald of Mountain Home, and Mark McDonald of Jacksonville; 20 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and numerous nephews and nieces. A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Monday, Dec. 30, at Conway's First United Methodist Church, where she was baptized as a child. The body is being donated to science. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Mount Eagle Christian Center, 935 Beal St., Clinton, AR 72031, or a charity of your choice.

Published December 25, 2013

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