Obituaries

Donald Mckindley (“Donnie Mac”) of Geneva passed on September 25, 2018 at the age of 81.  Don leaves behind his sister Janet, son in law Jim Murray (was married to Diane Mckindley) and 2 grandchildren, Mark Murray and Lauren Murray.  From his 2^nd marriage, Don leaves behind Sue (Pizzi) and Tim Dunlop and their children: Matthew, Jordan, and Kevin; Joe Pizzi and daughter Amanda; Nancy Pizzi; Mike and Kate Pizzi and daughter Maggie.  Don was preceded in death by first wife Iris, second wife Janice, both of his children: Diane and Scott, his mother and father and his brother Donald.

Don was born on November 3, 1936 in Geneva IL.  Don’s mother passed away when he was 4 months old and he moved to Sandwich IL to live with his father and his father’s sister.  Don attended Sandwich High School where he excelled in athletics.  Football was Don’s favorite sport where he was a star running back and was named MVP of his football team in both his junior and senior years.  Don also excelled in Track where he set the school record in the hurdles.  After high school, Don got a job with NICOR where he worked for over 40 years.  When he was not working, Don enjoyed playing golf and he spent many hours perfecting his game.   Don participated in annual golf outings to Biloxi and a few other locations and one of his favorite sayings was “what happens in Biloxi, stays in Biloxi”.

Don married his first wife, Iris Ann Olsen in 1958 and they had 2 children, Diane and Scott.  Don and Iris divorced, and Don married Janice Pizzi in 1995.  Don and Jan spent 21 wonderful years together, even though Don was a diehard White Sox fan and Jan was a lifelong Yankee fan.  Don was a devoted husband and said that his time with Jan was an incredible blessing and the years he spent with her were the best years of his life.

A special talent that Don possessed was an incredible memory for dates, names, numbers and a mountain of information on a variety of topics, especially sports.  Don would often be able to recall the exact date of events from the past and would have complete recall of the day.  If you named a person, place, or thing, Don would likely have some intimate knowledge about that and would leave you wondering how he could possibly recall that level of detail.  Don also had singing talent and was in a barbershop quartet when he was younger.

Don valued family and friends above everything else in his life.  He lived thru the passing of 2 spouses and both of his children, survived major heart surgery, battled cancer on multiple occasions, was slowing losing his vision and yet he never complained and always maintained a positive outlook on life.  He was an inspiration in many ways and he will be missed forever by those who knew him and counted him as family or friend.

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