ROCHELLE — Local Historian, Mary Lou McDonald, passed away on Thursday, December 3rd, 2015.  Born on July 5th, 1920, Mrs. McDonald was born and raised in Rochelle, Georgia.  She was an active and life-long member of the First Baptist Church of Rochelle, where she resigned as the organist after 38 years of service.  Mrs. McDonald, a retired English teacher from Wilcox County High School, was also an active member in the United Daughters of Confederacy (U.D.C) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.).  An avid lover of history, Mary Lou compiled and had published three volumes of “the Passing of the Pines”, a History of Wilcox County, Georgia, her home county.  The family will receive friends at Frazier and Son Funeral Home, Rochelle, Georgia Friday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.  Funeral services for Mrs. McDonald will be held on Saturday, December 5th, 2015 at 10:00 AM in the First Baptist Church of Rochelle.  Burial will follow in the family plot in the Morningside Cemetery in Rochelle with the Rev. Phillip West and Rev. Nelson Goddard officiating.  Ben Mills and Leslie McDonald will do a eulogy.Mrs. McDonald was the daughter of the late John Clower Laidler (Jack) and Carrie Doster Laidler of Rochelle.  She was preceded in death by her husband Cleo Ellis McDonald and her daughter, Mary Sue McDonald (Susie).  She is survived by her sons; Jack Laidler McDonald, Sr. (Sheila) of St. Simons Island, Georgia and John Ellis McDonald (Leslie) of Rochelle, Georgia, four grandchildren, Jack Laidler McDonald, Jr. (Kelly), Megan Davis (Grant), Hollie Conner (Chase) and Carrie Tharpe (Matthew) and four great-grandchildren, Myles Davis, Harley Davis, Logan Conner and Jackson Tharpe.Donations may be made to the First Baptist Church of Rochelle or flowers will be accepted.
Pallbearers will be:  active-Lynn Lynch, Tommy McDonald, Grant Davis, Chase Conner, Matthew Tharpe and David Brown.  The Deacons will serve as honorary escort.
Jan Brown will play prelude and postlude.  The congregation will sing “Amazing Grace” and “Rock of Ages”.
Frazier and Son Funeral Home in Rochelle is in charge of arrangements.
Please sign our online registry at www.fraziersonfuneralhome.com