Obituary of Claude F. MacDonald

Claude F. MacDonald Jr., 88, of 1005 State Route 3, Saranac Lake, died Friday, April 3, 2009 at Uihlein Mercy Center in Lake Placid. Born in Dayton, Ohio on June 1, 1920, he was the son of Claude and Blanche (Reed) MacDonald. He married Elizabeth MacDonald (Donohue) on March 22, 1942 in Great Neck, New York. Mr. MacDonald had been a resident of Saranac Lake since 1962, coming from East North Port, Long Island. Mr. MacDonald served in the United States Army Air Force and received an Honorable Discharge in November of 1945. He enlisted as a aviation cadet and completed the pilot training program. Prior to the Air force and after being discharged he worked at Republic Aviation Corp in Farmingdale, NY. He was an aircraft electrician later promoted to foreman. He was in charge of final assembly making necessary final adjustments and corrections on electrical components before disposition to the Air Force. He installed flight test wiring and equipment in experimental aircraft. As foreman he inspected electrical installations in aircraft to blueprint specs and also inspected electrical systems in experimental guided missiles. He was in charge of a group of men that installed flight test instrumentation in several experimental aircraft. He was also responsible for correcting discrepancies in radar, doppler and auto pilot systems in various new production aircraft. In the research lab he performed various structural fatigue tests using the latest electronic recording equipment. On several occasions he traveled to Edward's Air Force Base in California to inspect a prototype aircraft for the company. After moving to Saranac Lake, Mr. MacDonald worked at the Plattsburgh Air Force Base in Plattsburgh, NY as an electrical inspector of motor equipment and received numerous performance awards. He retired in June of 1984. Claude was an avid fly fisherman. He also loved to hunt for deer, rabbits and grouse. He was also a "jack of all trades" doing carpentry, plumbing and electrical. In his work shop he made numerous inventions and received an US patent for an automatic windshield wiper invention. He is survived by one son William MacDonald and his wife Alice of Walla Walla, Wash.; two daughters: Barbara Cartier and her husband Jerome of Bloomingdale and Carol Seymour and her husband Kevin of Vermontville; nine grandchildren: Elizabeth, Hannah and William MacDonald, Kyle and Kristin Seymour, Jeffrey Cartier, Tammy Patnode, Cherie Miller and James MacDonald and 10 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife Elizabeth, his father, his mother, one sister Janet and a son James MacDonald. Funeral arrangements are in care of the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. A memorial service will be held at a later date to be announced at the funeral home. Friends wishing to remember Claude MacDonald may make memorial contributions to the High Peaks Hospice or the Saranac Lake Rescue squad in care of the funeral home. Family and friends may also share their memories and sign the online guest book at fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com.