Obituary of Edward D. McDonald

Edward D. McDonald PITTSFORD: Edward D. McDonald, founder of EDMAC Associates of East Rochester and Fishers, engineer and philanthropist, passed away at the Friendly Home in Brighton, New York on Sunday, June 28th, at the age of 91. He was pre-deceased by his first wife Margaret, his parents Arthur and Ella McDonald, brother Arthur, and sister Shirley Swain. He is survived by his wife Marilynn; four sons: Edward (married to Lea), Craig (married to Julie), David, and Jeffrey (married to Laura); three step-children: Richard Englert, Kimberley Marohn (married to Jonathan), and Jeffrey Englert (married to Genie); sister Elizabeth McDonald, brother Bruce (married to Irene), and sister-in-law Peggy McDonald; grandchildren Brittney, Kate, Bob, Sean, Sam, and Alex; and numerous nieces, nephews, step-grandchildren, and others. Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Ed graduated from Stamford High School in 1940. After a two year toolmaker apprenticeship, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1942, and served honorably in the China-Burma-India theater. Assigned to the 14th Air Corps (the “Flying Tigers”), he worked throughout free China. With the help of the World War II GI Bill, Ed attended the University of Connecticut and MIT from 1946-1949, graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering. After his college graduation he married Margaret Maul in Stamford. Together they had four sons: Edward, Craig, David, and Jeffrey. Before Margaret died in 1987, she lived to see all her sons happily married, though she never had the opportunity to meet her grandchildren. Following his marriage, Ed embarked upon a distinguished engineering and management career. Over the next fifteen years, Ed had diverse jobs of increasing responsibility, including Chief Engineer at PM Industries (Stamford, CT), Manufacturing Manager at Bendix Radio (Baltimore, MD), Sales Manager at Madison Industries (Muskegon, MI), Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Program Manager at Raytheon (Bedford, MA, and Portsmouth, RI), and ASW Marketing Director at Hazeltine (Braintree, MA). During Ed’s tenure at Raytheon its senior management selected him to attend the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University. In 1965, Ed accepted a job offer from General Dynamics’ Electronics Division in Rochester to become Director of its Anti-Submarine Warfare Product Line, and moved his family to Penfield. As the general manager of this major profit center, he built a fast-growing and profitable business. In 1970 General Dynamics closed its Rochester division, offering to move only a few of its several thousand employees to its new location in San Diego, California. Ed declined the offer, electing to stay in Rochester with his key personnel, who had petitioned him to start a new company in the same business. He incorporated EDMAC Associates the week he was separated from GD. In its first year of operation, EDMAC met his goal to be profitable, and thanks to constant growth and expansion it never had a loss year. In 1972, the electronics manufacturing company moved to the Piano Works complex in East Rochester, where it was instrumental in reviving that area, and then in 1982 moved to its own new plant in Fishers, where it employed hundreds of people and sparked Victor’s industrial growth. In 1984 Rospatch Corporation offered to acquire the company, around the same time that Margaret was diagnosed with cancer. Ed accepted the buy-out offer and retired from day-to-day business management, enabling him to spend more time with his wife in her final years. EDMAC’s successor company is today a division of Britain’s Ultra Electronics. Over the course of his long career, Ed led the design and production of many of the submarine and anti-submarine technologies which have been the mainstay of the Navy ever since. In 1996, The Washington Post published a full-page “25 Years Later” article on EDMAC and its role in helping Rochester’s resilient work force became stronger and more diversified after General Dynamics left the city. Ed had a strong sense of civic duty, and made many contributions to Rochester and the region around it, some publicly known and others anonymous. In 1987, he established the Margaret M. McDonald Memorial Trust, a charitable foundation whose principal purpose was supporting Rochester’s Memorial Art Gallery, the focus of his wife’s lifelong love of art, and other local institutions. He later also endowed the Edmac Foundation, with a broader charter for charitable work in the community. In 1998, following a long engagement, Ed married Marilynn Barron. Ed and Marilynn both enjoyed traveling and visiting many countries around the world, having fun adventures along the way, and making new homes for themselves in Pittsford and in Jupiter, Florida. Ed served as a Director on many Boards, including Rospatch, Selectronic, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the Genesee Hospital (later ViaHealth), Security Trust Bank (later Norstar Bank), the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, the Industrial Management Council, the National Defense Industrial Association, and the Navy League. In Rochester, Ed belonged (at various times) to the Genesee Valley Club, the Locust Hill Country Club, the Country Club of Rochester, and the Oak Hill Country Club. In Washington, DC, Ed belonged to the Army-Navy Club and the Capitol Hill Club. Though Ed wasn’t raised in the Rochester area, he devoted much of the second half of his life to seeking out ways to make it better, and his sense of humor and kindness will be greatly missed by all who knew him. There are no calling hours, and a private interment was held at the White Haven Memorial Park in East Rochester. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Edmac Foundation, 1000 Pittsford Victor Road, Pittsford NY 14534, or to the Rochester General Hospital Foundation, 100 Kings Highway South, Suite 2300, Rochester NY 14617, or to the Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Avenue, Rochester NY 14607. Home Pittsford, New York Birthplace Stamford, CT Donations In lieu of flowers please consider donations in Ed's name to: EDMAC Foundation 1000 Pittsford Victor Road Pittsford, NY 14534 or Rochester General Hospital Foundation 100 Kings Highway Rochester, NY 14617 Link to the Website or Memorial Art Gallery 500 University Avenue Rochester, NY 14607 Link to the Website