Claude Darwin McDonald

Claude Darwin McDonald, 79, of Charleston, SC, passed away on Sunday, October 18, 2015, in Charleston, SC. He was born on Sunday, August 2, 1936 in Smith County, TN, to the late Anna Glover McDonald and the late Cowan Darwin McDonald. Claude lived in Middle Tennessee until he entered the U.S. Army in 1958. He graduated from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He taught school in Albuquerque before entering U.S. Government Service, where he retired as a Special Agent with the U.S. Customs Service in 1989. He also retired from the SC State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) in 1996. Claude was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church. His family will remember him as a loving husband, father and grandfather, who loved golfing and watching college football. Besides his parents, he is preceded in death by a step-grandson, Gavin Ferrell Thomas Thackeray; one sister, Pauline Alderson and one brother, Bobby McDonald. He is survived by his loving wife of 31 years, Lynn Puckhaber McDonald, of Charleston, SC; two sons: Chad McDonald, and his wife, Joan, of Charleston, SC and Cary McDonald and his wife, Deanna, of Daniel Island, SC; two grandsons: Cory McDonald and Cole McDonald of Daniel Island, SC; two stepdaughters: Amy Cook of Charleston, SC and Kimberly Syms, and her husband, Jimmy, of Rincon, GA; one stepson, Tom Thackeray and his wife, Joette, of Hampton, VA; six step-grandchildren: Logan and Erin Cook of Charleston, SC; Brooke and Jaclyn Syms of Rincon, GA; and Kaelyn and Abigail Thackeray of Hampton, VA. He also has three brothers; two sisters and numerous nieces and nephews, all residing in Middle Tennessee. A memorial gathering will be held on Thursday, October 22, 2015 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at McAlister-Smith Funeral Home West Ashley Chapel. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, 174 East Bay Street, #300, Charleston, SC 29401 or the Susan G. Komen Foundation, 50 Folly Road, Charleston, SC 29407. Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at www.mcalister-smith.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to McALISTER-SMITH FUNERAL HOME WEST ASHLEY CHAPEL, 2501 Bees Ferry Road, Charleston, SC 29414, 843-722-8371.

Visitation:
Thursday, October 22, 2015