Gordon Russell MacDonald

WILLIMANTIC

ANDOVER

Gordon was born on March 31, 1934, in Hartford, Connecticut to Donald Walton MacDonald and Ethel (Seidel) MacDonald. He died in his home in Willimantic on October 26, 2025, of heart failure with his family by his side.

His parents moved to CT when his father was transferred from the Atlantic Refining Company in Kettle Point, RI to East Hartford, CT. In 1937 the family moved to Manchester, CT where Gordon's brother Bruce was born. In 1941 they moved to Bunker Hill Rd. in Andover, CT where the boys attended the local 3-room red schoolhouse. Gordon expanded his interest in drawing and painting at Windham High School achieving awards in the Hartford Courant annual Scholastic Art Contest. He also met and courted his future wife, Bette LeBaron. Upon graduation Gordon was accepted into the Graphic Arts and Illustration program at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY.

After an interruption of two years in the US Army, he married his high school sweetheart and returned to Pratt Institute to finish his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree (BFA). After graduating, Bette and their new daughter, Heather, moved into a house on Andover Lake. Gordon set up a studio in their home and began freelancing, designing murals for Friendly's ice cream, other restaurants, and eventually banks and insurance companies. He also produced full-color renderings for architects and interior decorators.

Gordon and Bette became active in community organizations, which included the local Congregational Church, county and state youth art conferences at Silver Lake, Haiti, and Puerto Rico, community club plays, and the Andover Historical Society. As their family increased, Bette, Gordon, Heather, Lauren, Allison, and Bridget formed the MacDonald Family Singers, playing and singing Scottish and traditional music for fairs, churches, the Norwich Rose Festival, and 13 elementary schools in Manchester, CT. In 1970, Gordon bid on and acquired a four-room Canadian National Railroad Station, which was moved to a hill on Bette's grandfather's farm to become the family's summer home in Quebec, Canada. Railroad songs were soon added to the MacDonald family's repertoire.

When the girls eventually attended high school and colleges, Gordon designed sets and appeared in Musical Theatre productions for Hebron Podium Players, Windsor Jesters, Gilbert and Sullivan of Manchester, and Windham Theatre Guild. When Lauren married, Gordon and Lauren's bagpiper husband formed a Scottish folk trio called "Cairngorm". Later, they added a soprano, performing for the British American Club of Manchester, 13 years for the Scotland CT annual Highland Festival, Burton Levitt Theatre, etc.

In 1977, Gordon joined the Graphic Arts department of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, designing posters, brochures, slide presentations, and art directing the 65th Pratt & Whitney anniversary book, as well as art directing the "Eagle" magazine. In 1986, Gordon and Bette fell in love with and moved to a three-story 1890 Victorian home in Willimantic, CT. They began traveling when Bette retired from her job as Administrator at Juniper Hill Village, Storrs, CT. Saint Petersburg, Russia, Kenya, Africa, Scotland, England and Wales, central Europe, Ireland, Iceland, and the Caribbean were visited. After many grandchildren and several great-grandchildren and a full and interesting life, Bette passed away on January 14, 2017. The family felt this loss very deeply, but with the care and consideration of his daughters, Gordon carried on. Over the years, Gordon has survived a carotid artery operation, triple bypass surgery, and prostate cancer.

Burial services were held privately. The MacDonald family invites all to a Celebration of Life honoring Gordon on Sunday, December 21, from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Windham Theater Guild, 779 Main Street, Willimantic.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Gordon's memory may be made to the Windham Theatre Guild at windhamtheatreguild.org.

Gordon Russell MacDonald

Gordon Russell MacDonald

Gordon Russell MacDonald

Gordon Russell MacDonald