Virgil Ray McDonald

January 28, 1941 - February 28, 2012

VIRGIL R. MCDONALD 1941-2012 Virgil Ray McDonald, 71, of Holyoke, MA entered into eternal rest on Monday, February 28th at Mercy Medical Center after suffering from a long illness. Virgil was born in Poplar Bluff Missouri, a son of the late Ernest McDonald and Opal (Young) McDonald. He also called home places such as Rockford, Illinois and Las Vegas, Nevada. He was a graduate of Wheatly High School in Poplar Bluff where he excelled as a star athlete on the basketball team. He is a retiree of Camcar in Rockford Illinois. Virgil was a resident of Holyoke since 1981. He was a loving father, brother, uncle and friend who loved life. He could often be found in and around Holyoke enjoying the sights, sounds and people around him. He is survived by his children, Jaquelyn McDonald and her children Chamerra and Kyle, of Las Vegas, NV; Virgil McDonald Jr. and his children, Zytadien, Dytez and John of Rockford, IL and Colette McDonald and her children Tayvius and Jayla of Clinton, MS. He also leaves behind two brothers and two sisters: Vic (Clara) Young of St. Louis, MO; Ernest McDonald Jr. of Smyrna, GA; Bobbie Jean Nelson of Las Vegas NV; and Gailya Benton of Holyoke. He also leaves his beloved nephew Carlos and his wife Stephanie of Holyoke and many other dear nieces and nephews and friends. Visiting hours for Virgil will be held on Monday, March 5, 2012 from 1-3 PM at Messier Funeral Home, 1944 Northampton St., Holyoke, MA 01040. A funeral home service will conclude the celebration on Monday at 3 PM. Please visit www.messierfuneralhome.com to share condolences, pictures, stories, receive directions and view Virgil�s personal webpage, complete life tribute and video remembrance. Memorial donations in Virgil�s name may be made to a charity of one�s choice. You are using an outdated web browser that does not support this video. Your browser does not support this video format. You should be able to view it in Chrome, Safari or Internet Explorer. $(document).ready(function(){ if ( false === supports_h264_baseline_video() ) { $("#vdfmtnt").show(); $("#vidplyr1").hide(); } });