[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 120 (Tuesday, July 29, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1263-E1264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO ALBERT CLYDE McDONALD

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ROBERT B. ADERHOLT

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 29, 2014

  Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute on the passing 
of a gracious and wonderful man who made a significant impact on his 
state, his community and his family. A man I was proud to call my 
father-in-law, Albert Clyde McDonald.
  He was the kind of man who some may call old-fashioned with his quiet 
dedication to service--service to God, his family, his land, and his 
state.
  Albert McDonald passed from this life on July 6, 2014 at his home in 
the Huntsville area, surrounded by his beloved family.
  He was born in Dayton, Tennessee to Clyde McDonald and Nahoma Welch 
McDonald. He was preceded in death by both his parents and his 
siblings, Malcolm Rhea McDonald and Mary Lynn Goodwin.
  He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Shirley Shields McDonald; and 
four children, Mark Russell McDonald, Stan (Mabel) McDonald, Caroline 
McDonald Aderholt, and Leah McDonald Engler. Also, he is survived by 
fourteen grandchildren, Dr. Matthew McDonald, Carter McDonald, Lewis 
McDonald, Locker McDonald, Lloyd McDonald, Mary Eleanor McDonald, 
Melissa Suzanne McDonald, Luke McDonald, Manie McDonald, Christian 
Rutherford, Mary Elliott Aderholt, Robert Hayes Aderholt, Bruce Erich 
Engler, and Anna Kate Engler.
  After graduating from Auburn University in 1953, Commissioner 
McDonald made his home in North Alabama, planting cotton, soybeans, and 
grain on his family farm in the Huntsville area. He was a member of 
various agriculture-related organizations, such as the National Cotton 
Council, and served on the Cotton Incorporated Executive Committee, and 
as President of the Southern Cotton Growers Incorporated.
  Recognizing that he could play a role in representing agriculture 
because of his talents and farming experience, Albert McDonald launched 
his political career in 1974. He served two terms in Alabama State 
Senate. During his second term, Albert served as chairman of the Senate 
Rules Committee.

[[Page E1264]]

Then, in 1982, he ran for and was elected to serve as Commissioner of 
Agriculture and Industries for the State of Alabama and was re-elected 
to serve a second term in 1986. In 1991, he was appointed by President 
George H.W. Bush to be the Executive Director of the Alabama Farm 
Services Administration. Beginning in 1995, he was appointed by the 
Huntsville City Council to serve on the governing board of Huntsville 
Hospital, and was appointed by Alabama Governor Fob James to serve on 
the Auburn University Board of Trustees in 1996.
  Sometimes, he was a man of few words. However, when Albert McDonald 
spoke, people listened. He was a leader and statesman in every sense of 
the word, as well as my father-in-law. He will be missed by so many at 
home and across the state. I can only imagine that he was welcomed to 
heaven with those sweet words, ``Well done, my good and faithful 
servant.''

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