Stanley A. "Stan" MacDonald, age 53, of Fox Point passed away on Wednesday, May 20, 2009, after a 20 year battle with Parkinson Disease.
He was born on May 31, 1955 in Milwaukee to Stanley H. and Marianne (nee Ketelsen) MacDonald. Stan attended West Bend East High School and in 1973 became part of the first graduating class to attend all four years of high school at West Bend East. Following high school Stan briefly attended Marquette University in Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin Washington County in West Bend before moving to Milwaukee where he lived with his grandparents. Once in Milwaukee Stan began working for the Trident Corporation in the maintenance department. A short time later Trident was bought out by Katz Properties and Stan became their first employee. Stan took pride in his work and because of that he eventually became the maintenance supervisor for Katz Properties.
Stan was a hard and dedicated worker and was proud to have earned both a City of Milwaukee High Pressure Steam Certification as well as a Certification in Air Conditioning. He could do anything he put his mind to and he had an amazing mechanical ability. He enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together again. He loved to work on motorcycles and cars, but his true passion was music. Stan had a discerning ear for the fine points of music and he enjoyed sharing it with his family and friends.
Stan is survived by his parents, Stanley and Marianne MacDonald of West Bend; his two sisters, Kathy (Jeff) Valind of Sheboygan and Sherry (Randy) Fechter of Rhinelander; and 10 nieces and nephews, Joseph (Jessica) Valind of West Bend, Anneliese (Paul) McDowell of Sheboygan, Alison Valind of Santa Clarita, CA, Nicholas Valind of West Bend, Gabriel Valind, Timothy Valind, Olivia Valind, and Emma Valind of Sheboygan, Melissa (Adam) Mason of Fond du Lac, and Elizabeth (Gelacio) Merida of Fond du Lac. He is further survived by his paternal grandmother Lorraine MacDonald of West Bend, and many other close relatives and dear friends.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Stanley MacDonald; and his maternal grandparents, Carsten "Pete" and Anneliese Ketelsen.
A memorial service in honor of Stan will be held on Saturday, May 30, 2009 at 1:00 pm at the Myrhum-Patten Funeral Home in West Bend. Rev. Randy MacDonald will officiate. Visitation will be at the funeral home on Saturday from 11:00 am until the time of service at 1:00 pm.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dan Katz for being such a gracious employer to Stan for so many years; it truly is appreciated.