Carlton A. McDonald ’46

Date posted: November 20, 2023, 10:38 am

Captain “Mac” AK McDonald passed away at his home on Sept 27, 2023. He was 97 years old. Mac was born in Waukegan, Illinois to Carlton K. McDonald and Florence A. MacMillan. In 1931, due to the depression, he moved to Limerick, Maine to live with his mother and her parents. After their house burned down, he enrolled as a boarding student at Hebron Academy where he graduated as valedictorian and then began attending MIT. In 1944 he was appointed to the Naval Academy. After commissioning, he served aboard the USS Leary and the subs Spikefish, Sea Robin, and Barbero. He successfully interviewed with ADM Rickover and later assumed command of the USS Grant, gold crew. At the Pentagon he became special assistant to the Asst Sec of the Navy. He was awarded the Legion of Merit as well as the Meritorious Service Award. After retirement, he spent years researching the causes of the sinking of the USS Scorpion and published his findings. Upon leaving the Navy and Hawaii after 3 tours there, a columnist for the Honolulu Advertiser dedicated a column to the McDonalds. In it he wrote, “Angus has one of the most excellent minds I have ever encountered. He is able to pierce through all of the fluff and nonsense and search out the fundamentals of a problem. But far better than that, he is a gentleman and a man of character. A good husband, a good father, and a good citizen.” Angus left Hawaii for Bellevue, WA and put his MBA from UH to use working in the nuclear power industry for several years. He enjoyed life in the PNW having parties, volunteering, attending cultural events, golfing, and salmon fishing. Angus was married to his much beloved wife, Mavis, who passed away in 2009. She was his anchor throughout his life. He was adored and will be greatly missed by his 4 children, Jot, Sally, Scott, and David, his 7 grandchildren, Kai, Kristin, Lauren, Eliot, Matt, Megan, and Jeremiah, and 5 great grandchildren, Maia, Jack, Fletcher, Philip, and Torren