Goodbye Daddy... for now

Sunday night around 5:15 p.m. Daddy was HEALED ETERNALLY!  Praise the Lord!  His suffering is forever over!  He is praising the Lord IN HIS PRESENCE!  We are so thankful to have that peace!

Thank you for your many prayers!  Daddy died very peacefully with all 5 of his children around his bed and Katie his oldest grandchild.  Two very special friends were also there.  We were singing some of his favorite songs as he took his last breaths.  It was a sweet time of laughter and tears.  

Alive Hospice in Madison made his transition from here on Earth to Daddy's Heavenly HOME so much easier.  They were a blessing beyond what we could have imagined!  Their compassionate care was exactly what we all needed... especially Daddy.  

Thank you for your continual show of support and love to our Daddy and to us. We have no strength of our own. We are far from the perfect family. It is because of our imperfections and weaknesses that we are able to be sustained by the Lord.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says: But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Psalm 34:18 says:
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Without the Lord, we are nothing and could not do this. 

We have the times and locations for everything now. I also wanted you to know that Daddy had all this taken care of before he passed away with the help of JA, his friend Doug, and Sykes Funeral Home (members from his church). That has made all of this so much easier. We were just working out the details of a day and time with the cemetery which then dictated the times of everything else. We also wanted to give family time to come to town.

Visitation is Thursday, November 4th from 4 to 8 p.m. at
McFerrin Missionary Baptist Church
431 W. Old Hickory Blvd.
Madison, TN 37115
http://mapq.st/h/1-HIWM20D9

The funeral is Friday, November 5th at 9:30 a.m. with visitation starting 1 hour before at McFerrin Missionary Baptist Church (address above).

Burial is at 11 a.m. at the
Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery in Nashville
(in the Pegram area)
7931 McCrory Lane
Nashville, TN 37221
http://mapq.st/h/10-7FxKxtR1

We are asking that in lieu of flowers, gifts be given to Daddy's church's building fund. Daddy loved his church... and they sure loved him and took amazing care of him. It would be an excellent way of giving back to them.

McFerrin Baptist Church
431 W. Old Hickory Blvd.
Madison, TN 37115

Please write on the Memo Line "In Memory of Richard McDonald," and they will know it is for the building fund.


I think in today's Tennessean there is a small notice in the obituaries. There should be a full obituary tomorrow (Wednesday) in the Tennessean along with the small notices in many of the local papers.

My siblings and I also wanted to say a HUGE thank you to Doug Franklin and Pat Schmidt. They have been Daddy's faithful friends throughout this long journey and have done many things for him that were way above and beyond the call of friendship! They have been a blessing to us by blessing our Daddy, but they have also been a blessing to us during these last two weeks of Daddy's life here on earth that we could never repay. I think Romans 12:10 describes how they loved Daddy and us:
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
They have certainly done this! What a blessing! Thank you Doug & Pat! We love you!

Thank you, again, to all of you who have supported us through prayer & your kind words! You have definitely been carrying the banner for us! 
Thank you, again, for everything!  

Glory be to God on the Highest!  He hears our prayers!

Blessings,
Melinda