Monterey

John Curtis McDonald passed away peacefully at home in Monterey, California, on Monday, June 9, 2025. He was born March 10, 1933, in Marion, Ohio, to Mildred Louise (Brown) McDonald and John Dewey McDonald. After attending The Ohio State University in Columbus, he joined the U.S. Navy. He travelled widely and even served on an ice breaker, the USS Glacier. Then he served a year in the U.S. Air Force and returned home to central Ohio, where he worked for F&R Lazarus in downtown Columbus.

John found his calling in 1966 in the nascent computer industry, working over 30 years with the State of Ohio, Department of Liquor Control, as a programmer, systems analyst, and team leader. His flexibility, intensity, and openness to new technologies helped him succeed in the challenging industry and gave him the chance to develop varied expertise.

John enjoyed travel, especially driving the scenic central California coast. In the late 1990s, John moved to Monterey, and then accepted a contract with the State of California working on Year 2000 software changes to their mainframe-based online systems. Afterwards, John stayed in Monterey, dabbling in various PC-based software projects, writing some Android apps and finally enjoying leisure time. A few times he drove back to central Ohio to see friends and eat his favorite Rubino’s pizza. But he always returned to Monterey, and for a while became a regular at Mission Ranch in Carmel.

John was preceded in death by his sister Nancy Brown McDonald and his parents. John never married and had no children, but he was “Uncle John” to the children of friends, and he developed close relationships with several people who will miss him very much. Memorial contributions may be made to Meals on Wheels of Monterey Peninsula (700 Jewell Avenue, Pacific Grove, 93950) or SPCA Monterey County (1002 Monterey Salinas Highway, Salinas, 93908).