Henry H. McDonald

McDonald, Henry H.
July 27, 1923 - April 9, 2010
Henry H. McDonald, M.D. died April 9, 2010 following a lengthy illness. He was born July 27, 1923 in New York City to Margaret (Rose) Bechstein and Henry McDonald. He grew up with his two brothers, George and Donald. He attended Stuyvescent Math and Science High School and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at age nineteen.
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He served as a navigator flying missions in the European Theatre of Operations throughout World War II. As a First Lieutenant, he received the Bronze Star, flying thirty-five missions in the B-24 Bomber and later flew twenty-five missions in the Royal Air force 'mosquito' plane.

Following World War II, Henry returned to New York and graduated from Columbia University. He received his medical degree from New York University. He completed a residency in Ophthalmology at New York University and Harvard Medical School. In 1952, Henry married a young nurse, Dorothy (Dotty) Dieckhoff and in 1957, moved across country and began his practice of Ophthalmology in Pasadena. He was on the staff of the Huntington Memorial Hospital for forty years. Henry was an early advocate of small wound incision cataract surgery, the way all cataract surgery is done today. Throughout his distinguished career, and following his retirement in 1997, he was active in the creation and development of ophthalmic and surgical instrumentation. His fellow physicians and patients loved him.

Hank and Dot raised their three children in San Marino. There, he was a member of the Kiwanis Club, Masons Lodge, the University Club and the Valley Hunt Club. Henry threw himself into the interests of his family, playing tennis at the Valley Hunt Club, skiing at Mammoth Mountain, playing golf in Rancho Mirage, and sailing in Newport Beach. Many happy summers were spent with his family at El Morro Beach. In his later years, Henry and Dot spent the majority of their time in the desert and Newport Harbor area, where he loved participating in the activities of the Newport Harbor Yacht Club, especially visiting Moonstone Cove on Catalina Island. He renewed old friendships at the Orange County American Legion Post.

Henry was a creative and artistic man, a gentle man. He loved drawing, painting, chess and playing piano. He was quiet and reserved, quick to laugh, with a warm and kind spirit that drew people to him, especially children.

He is survived by wife, Dorothy. Their marriage was a love affair that lasted 57 years. He is also survived by his three children, Henry Richard McDonald, M.D., Robert George McDonald, and Robyn Elizabeth McDonald; and his six grandchildren: Jamison McDonald, Catherine McDonald Tunguz, Alana McDonald, Sean McDonald, Chelsea McDonald and Kyle Schiffman.

Henry was a gentleman. All who knew him loved him.

Memorial Contributions can be made to the American Heart Association, 1710 Gilbreth Road, Burlingame, CA 94010, 1 (800) 242-8721.