Warren H. 'Mac' MacDonald, 86, former Rehoboth Beach commissioner

LEWES - Warren H. "Mac" MacDonald died Monday, Dec. 17, 2007 at Beebe Medical Center, Lewes. He was 86.

Warren was born on the family farm near Minnieville in Prince William County, Va., on March 31, 1921.

He was a 1939 graduate of Western High School in Washington, D.C., and married his high school sweetheart, Martina Connors, in 1944.

Warren had an interesting and varied career.

Before World War II, he studied geology, a lifelong interest, at George Washington University.

In the early days of the war, Warren drove a truck helping with the construction of the Pentagon, while waiting to be inducted into the Army's pilot training program.

"Mac" earned his wings in 1943 and continued training as a B-24 pilot.

In December 1944, while assigned to the 464th Bomber Group stationed in Foggia, Italy, Warren's plane was shot down near Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, by German ME-109s.

Two members of his 10-man crew were killed in the strafing attack which set the plane afire, but the remaining eight crew members bailed out successfully, were taken prisoner and subsequently made it back to the United States.

Warren spent the remainder of the war in Stalag Luft One, a prison camp for aviators on the Baltic Sea.

His letter to his parents reporting his capture begins "Well, I always wanted to see Europe."

Mac worked at the Washington office of the American Legion from 1946 to 1969, specializing in veterans' legislative affairs.

He was active in organizing the national conventions for Boys Nation for many years.

In 1954, he graduated cum laude with a degree in psychology from American University.

Warren left the Legion in 1969 to become the executive assistant to Donald Johnson, the Director of Veterans Affairs during the Nixon administration.

Warren and Martina purchased a vacation cottage on Head of Bay Cove in Dewey Beach in 1963, and shared this retreat with family and friends.

After Martina's death in 1975, Mac retired from government service and became a year-round resident of Rehoboth Beach.

Retirement provided the time to indulge his interests in history and civic affairs.

Mac was considered an authority on the history of Sussex County, and had several articles published in the prestigious Journal of the Lewes Historical Society.

He was also a frequent contributor to local newspapers, and published both the YMCA and Kiwanis newsletters for a number of years.

Warren was very active in the Rehoboth Beach Kiwanis organization, and served as its president for several terms.

He especially enjoyed working with the Kiwanis hippotherapy program for children with handicaps.

In October 2006, Mac received the George H. Hickson Fellow Award, one of the highest honors in the Kiwanis organization.

He was also a recipient of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce Mae Hall McCabe Citizen of the Year Award in 2001.

Mac served as a Rehoboth Beach planning commissioner and then as a city commissioner from 1992 to 1995.

He considered his work on the revision of the Rehoboth Beach codes to be his most important contribution during his terms of elected office.

In recent years, Warren was a founder and president of the Rehoboth Beach Historic Society.

He was especially proud to be at the dedication ceremony for the new Historic Society Museum on Rehoboth Avenue this past November.

Mac had been instrumental in envisioning the old ice house as a museum, convincing the commissioners to purchase it, and helping to raise the funds to convert it into a building to suitably display the history of the area.

Warren is survived by his beloved companion of 30 years, Laura Dick; brother, Jerry; nephews, Larry, Scott and Richard MacDonald; niece, Susan MacDonald Wroble; and many friends in the community and the organizations in which he enjoyed the years of his retirement.

Funeral services at Arlington National Cemetery are pending.

A memorial service is planned for late March in Rehoboth Beach

Memorial gifts if desired can be made to the Rehoboth Beach Historical Society by calling 841-0162; or the Kiwanis Club of Rehoboth Beach, P.O. Box 786, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971.

Funeral arrangements by Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Lewes.

A memorial service will be 11 a.m. Jan. 21 in the Chapel of Melson Funeral Services on West Avenue, Ocean View.

Instead of flowers, the family suggest memorial contributions in Eric's memory to American Kidney Fund, 6110 Executive Blvd, Suite 1010, Rockville, MD 20852.