Nathan Andrew Jackson McDonald

Mr. Nathan Andrew Jackson-McDonald, the first of five children of the late Mr. James Andrew Jackson and Mrs. Virginia L. (Jones) Jackson, was born October 6, 1945 in Washington, D.C. Nathan's birth was followed by those of his siblings: Louise (1946), Luvenia (1949), Diane (1952) and James (1956). A sixth sibling, Barbara, was born in 1974.
In 1949, he and his sister, the late Mrs. Louise Joyce Jackson-McDonald James Hodges, became members of the household of their aunt and uncle, Mr. Hammond McDonald and Mrs. Luevenia Jackson McDonald, in Ethel, Mississippi. While no biological children were born to the McDonald's union, through grace, the Almighty God saw their love for children and blessed them with a devoted son and daughter, Nathan and Louise. The siblings were legally adopted by the McDonalds in 1957.
Nathan was an educational product of the public schools of Attala County, graduating from Tipton Street High School. He would continue his formal education at Mary Holmes College, Mississippi Valley State College, now Mississippi Valley State University (B.S. degree, Business Education), Delta State University (M.S.L.S., Library Science) and Mississippi State University.
Considered a master library scientist, he was first employed in the public schools of Attala County. He would later practice his "science" at his alma mater. Prior to retiring from "The Valley," he served as Interim Director of the James Herbert White Library. Retirement did not find Nathan idle. For a brief period, he was Librarian at the Delta Correctional Facility in Greenwood.
His passion for library science was paralleled by a passion for community service. For two terms (eight years), he was Election Commissioner for District Three in LeFlore County. Those who served with him attest to his diligence, his dedication and his insistence on doing things "decently and in order."
Those who spent any amount of time in his company were aware that Nathan was a connoisseur of the culinary and the Arts- especially music. Dr. Lawrence Goldman, a colleague and professor of Music at MVSU declared at the notice of Nathan's transition, "He was a technical wiz and mastered the art of word processing before most of us even knew what the term meant.... a true lover of music and the arts, the kind of audience member you always want to be present at your performances. I will miss his wisdom, humor, and ability to see the good in all people."
While his family will certainly feel the void left by their loved one, the "Historian," the Providence Missionary Baptist Church Family of Greenwood, Mississippi, pastored by the Reverend Jessie Payne, Jr., will share the sentiment. Nathan boasted always to members and visitors of his Greenwood church of "doing tolerably well for an "Old Soul," however, his faithfulness and dedication rivaled that of any member - young or old. His areas of service and titles over the years included Administrative Assistant to the Pastor, Trustee Board Member, Assistant Church Secretary, Sunday School Teacher, Assistant Director for Vacation Bible School, Assistant Coordinator for the Youth Ministry and Administrative Assistant for the St. John District Association and Congress of Christian Education. For the church's children (and those young at heart), his desk was the "spot" for every candy imaginable (with words of wisdom and etiquette lessons on the side)!
This full life came to a close at his home in Greenwood, Mississippi, Friday, January 29, 2021.
Left to celebrate the life and cherish ever loving memories of Nathan Andrew Jackson-McDonald are two sisters: Mrs. Dianne V. Jackson Garnett of Washington, D.C. and Mrs. Barbara Ellen Hill Sandidge of Amherst, Virginia; a host of loving relatives, including a special cousin, Bernice Dennis of Chicago, Illinois; and "communities" blessed by his presence on the campus of Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena, MS in the city of Greenwood (LeFlore County), Mississippi, and in the congregation of Providence Missionary Baptist Church.
PLACE OF GRAVESIDE: Parkway Cemetery, Kosciusko, MS
DATE OF GRAVESIDE: 02/12/2021 at 12:00 noon
INTERMENT: Parkway Cemetery, Kosciusko, MS Send flowers to the service of Nathan Andrew Jackson McDonald