Donald James McNamara

Donald James McNamara DURHAM, N.H. Mr. Donald James McNamara, retired lieutenant colonel, USAF of Durham, N.H., passed away in his home on June 24, 2008, after valiantly fighting a battle with cancer at the age of 81. At his passing, he was surrounded by his beloved family. A native of Waltham, he was born on Dec. 30, 1926, the son of John J. & Bertha (Douglass) McNamara. At the age 16, he was the head lifeguard at Walden Pond before enlisting in the United States Army. During World War II, he was trained as an airborne infantryman. He attended training at Norwich University before joining the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division, in Japan in 1945, where he earned the Expert Infantryman Badge. After leaving the Army, he attended Harvard University and joined the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps. Graduating in 1951, he embarked on an Air Force career as a navigator that took him all over the country and the world. His service included combat tours in Korea, and subsequently, in Vietnam where he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He retired from the military in 1975 and settled in Durham, N.H. where he began a real estate appraisal business. His curiosity and thirst for knowledge were boundless; throughout his life he avidly pursued education and received advanced degrees from George Washington University and the University of New Hampshire. He continued taking college classes well into his 70s. His was a life well lived and well spent. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Helen Anne (Brophy), also a native of Waltham; his children, Brian S. McNamara and his wife, Adriana, of Dover, N.H., Thomas D. and his wife, Joanne, of Jacksonville, N.C., Erin E. and her husband, John Mullaney, of Brewster, Dennis J. McNamara of Wells, Maine, Patrick L. McNamara and his wife, Kelly Moulton, of Cape Neddick, Maine, Timothy J. and his wife, Kimm, of Durham, N.H. and Steven K. McNamara and his wife, Linda Cabeca, of Waltham; his daughters-in-law Priscilla Abbott and Jane McNamara; 21 grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. His family was his proudest accomplishment. Don was preceded in death by his nine siblings; his sisters, Dorothy McCullough, Alice Love, Helen Burns and Margaret Pear, and his brothers, John E., Francis X., Lawrence A., Henry F. and Richard D. McNamara. The funeral will be held on Monday, June 30, at 10 a.m. from the Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main St. ( Rte. 20), Waltham, followed by a funeral Mass in Saint Marys Church, 133 School St., Waltham, at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Mount Feake Cemetery, Waltham. Visiting hours are on Sunday, June 29, from 2 to 5 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the McNamara family asks that you offer your prayers to all those that serve in our armed forces, or please make a memorial donation to the Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org.