Joseph V. McDonald, age 98, of Winchester, MA, formerly of Rochester,NY, passed away peacefully November 25,2023. Beloved husband of the late Carolyn Petersen McDonald. Devoted father of Judith M. Aquadro and her husband Francis of Hadley, Ma., Betsy Iwanicki and her husband Steve of Durango,Co., Kitty Schneider and her husband Tom of Winchester, Ma., Joe McDonald and his partner Barbara Bodane of Rochester, N.Y. and David McDonald of Boston,Ma. Also leaves his grandchildren, Alexandra Aquadro (Scott Martin) of Boston, Ma., Tripp Aquadro of Portsmouth, N.H, Stuart Aquadro (Maya Wilson) of Winthrop MA., Stephen Iwanicki of Durango, Co., John Iwanicki of Ouray, Co., Emily S.Levinson (Kabren) Brighton, Ma., Eddy Schneider (Vanessa) of Denver, Co. and Claire Schneider of Cambridge, Ma.
Dr. McDonald attended Mount Saint Micheal in the Bronx, graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, and in 1949 graduated from the University of Pittsburg medical school. Joe trained in neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins where he met his wife Carolyn “Callie” and started their family. The McDonalds would move to Rochester in 1956 when Joe was recruited by University of Rochester Medical Center. Joe enjoyed practicing and teaching at the university and was named chief of the Division of Neurosurgery in 1974. Joe decided to retire in 1990 and moved to Massachusetts in 2013 where he made new friends and spent time with his growing family.
Joe enjoyed his career immensely, caring for patients and mentoring young residents of the surgical program. However, every summer he and Callie would pack up the five kids and any pets they had acquired and take a month-long summer vacation. In the beginning that would mean visiting the lakes of the Adirondacks, where every fishing day would end up as an anatomy lesson for his kids, showing them how the various organs work while gutting the fish. As his kids got older and were looking for summer vacation where it did not require sweaters in preparation of a summer snowfall, Joe and Callie would head further east to vacation in Nantucket, where the family would stop in Worcester to visit his beloved Holy Cross. On Nantucket the family would spend the days at the beach, swim in the surf and learn to appreciate the beauty of New England.
The family would like to thank care givers that cared for him for the past 7 years and the loving members of the Gables at Winchester. A Memorial Service will be planned in the near future.