Peter V. McDonald

On August 16, 1941 a son was born in Caribou, Maine to Clement and Iris McDonald. Peter V. McDonald, a beautiful blue eyed baby who would become a soft spoken man with an easy laugh and a generous spirit. Peter grew up in a large Irish Catholic family consisting of his parents and 11 siblings. Peter began working as a Butcher's apprentice at the A & P in Caribou while attending Caribou High School. He graduated from Caribou High School and joined the Navy in 1962. Alaska was his first Navy post and held many fond memories for him including fishing and experiencing the Tsunami of 1964. His time in the Navy provided him many opportunities for travel and seeing places like Hong Kong and Thailand. After the Navy, he moved to Southern California where he enjoyed his love of the outdoors. Peter enjoyed tooling around in his blue dune buggy, and had a passion for camping, fishing, and prospecting for gold. In 1969, Peter married Patricia Rael, who has been his lifelong partner. Together they raised a daughter Pauline, and a son Peter. Peter and Patricia raised their family in Maine, but moved to Colorado to be near their daughter and grandchildren. Peter was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother In-Law and friend to countless people. He would give you the shirt off his back or work countless hours "helping out" anyone who needed a hand. Peter's brother Mike summed it up best when he said that "the best things in life are the little things and my brother was all about the little things." Peter passed away at home in Loveland, Colorado (surrounded by his family) on April 12th, 2011, after a long hard battle with cancer. Peter did not lose his battle with cancer; the battle was about living a good and loving life, and that battle he won. Peter will be greatly missed, but will live on forever in our hearts. Peter is preceded in death by his father, Clement, brother Thomas and grandson Joshua Gish. Peter is survived by his mother Iris, wife of 42 years, Patricia (Rael) McDonald, daughter Pauline (McDonald) Gish, son-in-law Michael Gish, son Peter A. McDonald, daughter-in-law Dawn Summers-McDonald, three grandchildren, Victoria, Breanna and Jonathan Gish, and In-laws. A viewing will be held on Friday, April 15, 2011 from 4:00pm until 8:00pm at Allnutt Funeral Service. A funeral service will be held at 10:00am on Saturday, April 16, 2011 at Allnutt Funeral Service. Burial will be held at Fort Logan National Cemetery on Monday, April 18, 2011 at 10:00am. In lieu of flowers Peter requested that a donation be made in his name to the Christ Church of the Rockies for their "Front Porch Homeless Kitchen" at 310 North Cleveland, Loveland, CO 80538.