November 1, 1940 ~ October 18, 2026 (age 85)
Charles Julian McDonald, 85, of Auburn, Alabama, passed away peacefully at home on Sunday, October 18, 2026. He enjoyed a long and full life focusing on family, friendships, and Jesus.
Charles was an only child born to Julian A. and Ruth M. McDonald on November 1, 1940, in Louisville, AL.
He graduated from Clayton High School in 1959, Troy University in 1964. He served in the Alabama National Guard with honor. He married Sally Kinney of Montgomery, AL, on July 18, 1964.
He leaves as his legacy, two children, namely Laura M. Beene (Eric) of Burke, VA, and Howard A. McDonald (Nancy) of Auburn, AL, as well as four grandchildren, namely Patrick Beene of Auburn, AL, Michael Beene of Burke, VA, Blair DeRuiter (Alex) of Auburn, AL, and Lauren Patterson, of New York City, NY.
He was preceded in death by his bride of sixty years, Sally Kinney McDonald, and his parents, Julian and Ruth McDonald.
Charles spent his career in the construction industry. He worked for Algernon Blair of Montgomery, AL, and Columbus, OH, and at Conner Brothers of Auburn, AL. He retired from and loved the time he spent working at Castone Corporation of Opelika, AL.
The work he was especially proud of while at Castone was the RSA Battle House Tower, the tallest building in Alabama located in Mobile, and the Centennial Olympic Stadium, built for the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, GA.
Charles, lovingly called “Julian” by his wife, parents, and childhood friends, was passionate about his family, literature, art, both reading and writing, playing the guitar, his cats, and the family dog, Floppy. He also loved square dancing, ball room dancing, cooking, watching Auburn football, and taking classes at Auburn University’s OLLI, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.
A Memorial Service is scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 2:00 pm, at the Founder’s Chapel at Auburn United Methodist Church in downtown Auburn. The family will host visitation starting at 1:00 pm.
Dr. Cory Smith will officiate the ceremony. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Charles’ memory to CARE Humane Society or the Food Bank of East Alabama.
The family would like to thank the many attentive and loving caregivers of Home Instead of Opelika, AL, for the care of both of our parents over the last few years. We would also like to thank Compassus Hospice for their end-of-life care.
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