Remembering former Heights resident and principal John McDonald

Principal John McDonald sits behind his desk at Roxboro Elementary School.

Dr. John Leo "Jack" McDonald, 89, died on Friday, Aug. 8, at his residence in Chagrin Falls. He had formerly lived in Cleveland Heights.

McDonald was born Nov. 5, 1924 in Cleveland, the first of the two children of Anna Marie Koeppel McDonald and Leo Winibald McDonald.

McDonald graduated from Hunter College and Case Western Reserve University, and completed two Ph.D.s, in fine arts and education. He was employed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City before returning to Cleveland in 1952 to teach sixth grade at Canterbury Elementary School, in the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District. In 1970, McDonald became principal of Roxboro Elementary School. He retired in 1984.

McDonald was a member of the Cleveland Heights Historical Society. In 2000, he joined the Cleveland Heights Landmarks Commission and quickly made himself known as the resident expert on the architectural and social history of the Fairmount Boulevard neighborhood. During his tenure on the Landmarks Commission, nine properties were listed as Cleveland Heights landmarks, including the William R. Jeavons House, the Joseph R. & Elizabeth Nutt - St. Ann Convent House, and the Grant W. Deming House and Carriage House. 

According to Kara Hamley O'Donnell, Cleveland Heights city planner, McDonald’s memory was impressive, and included childhood memories of Cleveland Heights, and stories of the families who had inhabited the city's grand homes and the architects who designed them. He also had great memories of working at Roxboro Elementary School and recalled standing up to remodelers when the school district planned to gut the building's lovely auditorium, saving it for future generations.

McDonald was also one of the founding members of the Historic Fairmount Association. His interest in gardens and community service inspired him and his partner, Arden Smay, to organize an annual fall leaf collection for Carmel of the Holy Family OCD.

McDonald loved art, gardens and architecture for the serenity they brought to a chaotic world. His home was a museum, and his collection emcompassed work from the High Renaissance to the Romantic period. In the 1990s, McDonald and Smay's house was featured on HGTV’s "Dream Drives," a program showcasing homes of historical and design distinction, for its architecture and fine arts collection.

He leaves partner Arden Willis Smay of Tarentum, Pa.; brother Robert Bruce McDonald of Chagrin Falls; nieces Pamela Mattson McDonald of Astoria, Ore., and Nancy McDonald Meinken of Green Oaks, Ill.; and nephew Robert Scott McDonald of West Seattle, Wash.. He also leaves a grandniece, Alex Meinken of Miami, Fla., and grandnephew, Christopher Meinken of Chicago, Ill.

Arrangements will be conducted by Brown Forward Funeral Home. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16 at Lake View Cemetery, 12316 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio. Guides at the gate will escort those who wish to honor McDonald by their presence.