William Robert MacDonald passed away Saturday, April 16, at the age of 92. He was devoted to his family, including his wife Mary Alice of 68 years, his twin daughters Linda MacDonald Mahony of Carrollton and Laurie MacDonald Anderson of Rockwall, and his son Eric William MacDonald of El Paso.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his two sisters, Jo Ann Bowser of Denver, CO, and Barbara Jane Speece of Louisville, OH.

Mr. MacDonald was born in Kane, PA on Sept. 9, 1929 and spent his boyhood in Brookville, PA. Upon high school graduation, he enlisted in the Army for which he served for 30 years on three continents, achieving the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Four in military intelligence. He was stationed first in Germany and Italy, and he later served in Iraq, France, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand.

In 1955, he married Mary Alice Bowser in Niagara Falls, NY, after a six-week courtship, having known her since she was ten years old because her brother married his sister at the end of WWII.

He is survived by his wife, his daughters, their partners Scott Gilbreath and Lary Anderson, and his daughter-in-law Juliet Cullen MacDonald. He is also survived by ten grandchildren: Evan Mahony and Bryan Mahony; Mary Alice Anderson and Jay Anderson (married to Morgan Anderson); and Elaine MacDonald Reynolds (married to Alex Reynolds), Sean MacDonald (married to Michelle MacDonald), Emily Jane MacDonald, Claire MacDonald, Claudia MacDonald, and Julia Grace MacDonald. He also had one great-grandchild Isabel Peach Anderson.

His twin daughters Linda and Laurie were born in Rome, Italy several months after their mother was evacuated from Baghdad, Iraq during the July 14, 1958 revolution in which the King of Iraq was assassinated. Their brother Eric was born ten years later in Chitose, on the island of Hokkaido in Japan.

While on active duty, Mr. MacDonald attained a Bachelor of Arts with High Honors from the University of Maryland and a Master of Science degree from the University of Southern California. After his military service, he worked for 14 years in systems engineering at E-Systems in Greenville before retiring at the age of 62.

His military decorations included Legion of Honor, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, and two Army Commendation Medals.

He was an avid amateur radio operator with the Extra Class call sign K5ZZ, enjoying communicating in Morse Code. In the Army, Mr. MacDonald traveled to five continents, learned four languages, and earned a small aircraft pilot license. He was both an amateur painter and photographer.  He was interested in all things scientific, and he read vociferously primarily nonfiction.

Mr. MacDonald worked for several years with the AARP Tax-Aide program and with the Citizens Police Academy in Greenville. He was a member of both the Greenville Texas Rotary Club and the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He and Mary Alice attended United Presbyterian Church.

A memorial service will be held 10 a.m., Monday, May 9th, at the chapel of Coker-Mathews Funeral Home, 5100 Interstate 30, Greenville, followed by a graveside service at 3 p.m. at the DFW National Cemetery, 2191 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX.  Visitation will be from 9:00 a.m. until service time at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to Disabled American Veterans, 860 Dolwick Drive, Erlanger, KY, 41018.