Donald Edward McLemore

Donald McLemore, 76, died Saturday, March 1, 2025, peacefully at home in Memphis, Tennessee. He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Lucy LeBlanc McLemore, stepdaughter Hattie Buck Strange of Chicago, Illinois, and sister Sherree McLemore Hunsberger (Kenneth) of Lilburn, Georgia. He is preceded in death by his parents, Lemuel Edward McLemore and Catherine Hawkins McLemore, of Beech Bluff, Tennessee.

Don was a graduate of the Memphis State University College of Engineering. He owned his own residential construction business, which is how he met his wife, Lucy. She got extra-special attention (and free crown molding) and, finally, a marriage proposal. He eventually transitioned into residential design, working in collaboration with local architects and building contractors.

The more you got to know Don, the more things you found out about him. Things that he had done or could do or had read. He was an artist, an architect, a craftsman, a cook, an avid reader, a storyteller, a golfer, a sportsman and crack shot, a musician, a volunteer, a churchman, a good friend, a good man and a great husband and father. These are just the things we know about.

As nice a guy as he was, he was not a pushover, and could let his feelings be known, but in a levelheaded way that gained respect and confirmed his fine character.

Don drew from a bottomless trove of exceptional stories starting with his boyhood days in the South Memphis neighborhood in the 1950s and his time in the Marine Corps and Army Reserve. After a wayward golf shot, he would call out, "Come back, Shane!"

Don was an everyman who could talk to anyone, would help anyone, could do anything, fix anything, build anything, and knew something about almost any topic you brought up. He was fun to be with and enjoyed fellowship and company and a nice glass of bourbon.

In true Don spirit, at the end, his final words were, "Thank you."

Thank you, Don, for being the man you were.

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 1720 Peabody Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38104 followed by a reception at the church in Trezevant Hall. For this celebration of a well-loved life, the family requests festive, colorful attire. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Grace-St. Luke's Episcopal Church (gracestlukes.org/give) or to a charity of your choice.