Howard “Howie” Macdonald, 86, of Wayland, Massachusetts passed away peacefully on January 23, 2015.
Howie was born in Boston on March 31, 1928, to Reginald and Eunice Macdonald on the cusp of the Great Depression. His family moved from Jamaica Plain to Somerville, where they settled for many years.
Like a lot of families of the time, they struggled to make ends meet, but Howie often fondly reminisced about life in “The Good Old Days”. From the music, to the cars, to the old neighborhood, his memories were filled with little anecdotes…Shinnying up the drainpipe of his apartment on Summer Street; going for walks with his dog, “Pal”; pulling a sled with an ice-block for the family’s icebox on it home from Union Square; meeting his life-long friend, Sonny, while scavenging for paper at a burned-down paper mill in Cambridge; and taking pleasure rides around town in some neighbor’s old jalopy.
After the untimely death of his brother, Gordon, during WWII, the family moved to Newton, where Howie graduated from High School in 1946.
Howie’s mild-mannered intelligence and industrious nature lead him to a decades-long, successful career at Polaroid. He married his sweetheart, Arline, in 1958, and they settled in Wayland to raise their three daughters.
A talented, self-taught jazz pianist, Howie played semi-professionally around the Boston and Metro-west area for many years, and entertained and inspired friends and family with music throughout his life.
He leaves behind his loving wife of 56 years, Arline (Brzozowski) Macdonald; daughters, Christine Macdonald of East Falmouth, Susan Muster and her husband, Alan, of Needham, and Stacy Macdonald and her husband, Scott Weaver, of Melrose; grandchildren, Juliet, Madison and Audrey; great grandson, Cayden.
A private celebration will be held in honor of Howie’s life.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that a charitable donation be made to a music education program, like the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation http://www.mhopus.org/ or the VH1 Save the Music Foundation http://www.vh1savethemusic.org/
Arrangements by the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park St., at Natick Common.