William James "Billy" McDonald, Jr.

William James "Billy" McDonald, Jr., 73, of Pass Christian, died Wednesday, March 17, 2010 in Pass Christian. Mr. McDonald was born and raised in the Pass. He was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church. He was a graduate of St. Stanislaus and the University of Southern Mississippi and was a teacher at public and private schools in Pass Christian and New Orleans, LA. He was the owner of McDonald Realty in Pass Christian and sold the first lot in Diamondhead. Billy served on the Harrison County Board of Supervisors for twelve years, serving as President for several terms. He was also a past president of the Mississippi Board of Supervisors Association. Billy also served as Mayor of his beloved city of Pass Christian for ten years. Mr. McDonald was preceded in death by his parents, William James McDonald, Sr. and Hattie Woodcock McDonald; a son, Brent Nixon McDonald and two brothers, Donald H. McDonald and Robert C. McDonald. Survivors include his wife, Elaine Nixon McDonald of Pass Christian; a daughter, India McDonald Eastman and her husband, John, of Katy, TX; a son, William Tyler McDonald of Steamboat Springs, CO; two sisters, Janie McDonald of Destin, FL and Ann McDonald Ladner of Pass Christian; a brother, John T. McDonald and his wife, Tricia of Pass Christian; his mother-in-law, Ruby Byrd Nixon of Jackson; a sister-in-law, Dixie Lee McDonald of Pass Christian; the light of his life, two grandchildren, Brent Elizabeth Eastman and Jude Menge Eastman and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be Sunday, March 21, 2010 from 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. at Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home, 15th Street Gulfport. Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, March 22, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. at Holy Family Catholic Church, Menge Avenue, Pass Christian, where friends may visit beginning at 10:30 a.m. Interment will be in Live Oak Cemetery in Pass Christian. The family prefers memorials to the American Heart Association, 440 East Pass Road, Gulfport, MS 39507.