Hugh Don McDaniel

VANCE Hugh Don McDaniel, age 69, of Vance, died Dec. 30, 2009, at home. Services will be 2 p.m. Sunday at Tuscaloosa Academy. There will be a private family entombment in the Chapel of Memories Mausoleum in Memory Hill Gardens with Heritage Chapel Funeral Home, a Dignity Memorial Provider, directing. Visitation will be Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. at Tuscaloosa Academy.

Survivors include his wife, Sandra McDaniel; sons, Brian Scott McDaniel and Steven Lee McDaniel; brother, Herbert "Herky" McDaniel; parents, Huey Don McDaniel, and Sally Ashcroft McDaniel; and grandchildren, Charles Graene McDaniel, Jamie Renae Cagle, Lauren Grace McDaniel, and Emily Faith McDaniel.

Some knew him as Buddy, others as Coach Mac. Either way, Don McDaniel was loved by everyone he met. Don entered the Navy after graduating from Tuscaloosa High School in 1957, serving in the Cuban Missile Crisis blockade.

After sailing the Seven Seas, Don came home to marry his high school sweet heart, Sandra Bethra Richards. While working as an operator at Gulf States Paper Mill, however, Don discovered his second love, coaching.

Don volunteered with the Boys Club of Tuscaloosa, leading the Oakdale Raiders to the city championship game played in Denny Stadium. A few years later, Don became the head coach of West End Christian's JV Football Team. Family and friends believe every police officer in Tuscaloosa County played for Coach Mac at one point because he never received a speeding ticket despite deserving one or two over the years.

When Gulf States closed its mill in 1978, Don was an unemployed husband and father of two. He built swimming pools while attending night school, and eventually earned his Bachelor and Master degrees from the University of Alabama.

For 27 years, Don was a faculty member of Tuscaloosa Academy. He taught history, geography, and physical education. He also coached football, ladies basketball, track and field, and ballroom dancing to elementary school students. As a football coach, he won more than 100 games. In Track and Field, he coached nearly 50 individual state- champions. TA Track won 12 team state championships. The Cross Country Team has never lost in state competition.

Don McDaniel's private passion was reading and writing history. He wrote books on the Civil War, southern cooking, and childhood physical education. He was a U.S. Olympic Track and Field referee, and a Civil War re-enactor. He was known for his delicious Navy Bean soup, and was keeper of the family's century-old bar-b-que recipe.

He loved his grandchildren, bragged on his sons, and was faithful to his wife.

Don McDaniel, Buddy, Coach Mac will be missed by everyone who knew him.

Pallbearers will be Don McNabb, Dr. Sam Gambell, Dr. Barry Peterson, Roy Dyer, Sr., Buddy Sumner, Kelly Bruce, and May Wilson.

In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations be made to Don McDaniel Memorial Track Fund c/o Tuscaloosa Academy.