Major Jewel McDonald never seemed to forget anything.
Even with 110 years of memories – living through historical events like World War II, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement – his daughter, Jacqueline McDonald, said nothing ever slipped his mind.
“He (remembered and) thanked my sister and I for always coming (to visit) since he relocated to Mississippi to see about him,” Jacqueline said. “He said that there are so many people that … live in the same city with loved ones that never have visitations and visits and people to love on them, and he was so appreciative. We appreciated him. It’s going to be a tremendous loss in my life because I’ve had him all my life.”
Major, born Nov. 1, 1915, in Louisville, passed away Sunday at his home.
Beyond being a father of four children and working more than 30 years for Kroger in Cleveland, Ohio, Major was also recognized as the oldest man in the United States prior to his passing Sunday by the Gerontology Research Group, a global nonprofit that keeps track of supercentenarians or people who have reached the age of 110 and older.
Major was born the son of a previously enslaved man and woman in Louisville and could only find work in sharecropping during his childhood. He was the sixth of 12 children, which led to a number of financial strains on the family.
But despite financial hardships and growing up during an era of racial segregation, Jacqueline said her father loved his hometown and Mississippi.
“He talked about the depression and the hardships that (accompanied it) … coming from the South, where he often shared with us that he worked all day as a young person for 50 cents per day,” Jacqueline said. “And people would find that unbelievable today.”
Those challenges prompted Major to head north to Cleveland during the late 1940s in search of a better life. He worked a number of odd jobs to make ends meet before finding a career at Kroger. He retired as an assistant manager in 1982.
While living in Cleveland, Jacqueline said Major married her mother, Princeola McDonald, and had his first three children.
It was also during this time that Major saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act, which gave him hope he could return one day to a more racially friendly Louisville.
“Although he lived through a very difficult time in his life, he rejoiced and was extremely proud when Rev. Martin Luther King spoke at the March on Washington regarding eliminating segregation,” Jacqueline said. “… He (said) that ‘God is freeing us just like he did the Israelites.’”
Jacqueline said her father was always looking for hope in life even while living through economic hardships in the Great Depression and the 2008 recession.
“(He told us to) take risks, but take risks that’s going to enhance your life, not deteriorate your life,” Jacqueline said. “… He wanted us to have a better quality of life and to share our lives and our experiences and our education and everything with others. And to help make a difference in the lives of people, and that’s one of the things that we have attempted to do.”
Following his retirement and the death of his wife, Major returned to Louisville in the 1980s to be closer to his family. He met and married Brenda McDonald and began reconnecting with the Louisville community.
That started the only way Major knew how, Jacqueline said, with a fish fry for the community.
On the first Saturday before Labor Day for more than 40 years, Major held a community fish fry at his home in Louisville. Over the decades, the event grew into a community fixture drawing crowds of more than 300 each year, Jacqueline said.
Elmetra Patterson, Major’s neighbor for more than a decade, said the fish fry and Major’s volunteer and mentorship work with Mt. Olive Church-God in Christ led him to become a role model for many young men in the area.
“The thing he did (was) encourage young (people), especially young men to work,” Patterson said. “… It had an impact because (during) Jim Crow, we were discriminated against so much, and we just went through some hard times. But Mr. McDonald did not allow those things to keep him from being a successful person.”
Honoring Major’s 110 years of life and his contributions to the city, Louisville Mayor Will Hill recognized Sept. 5 as Major Jewel McDonald Day.
Hill said he will cherish getting to honor Major’s legacy and the conversation they shared when dropping off the proclamation earlier this year.
“We had a great visit,” Hill said. “… He was just downplaying not only the day but saying he didn’t need any more birthday parties. He (had) enough birthdays, just stuff like that.”
Patterson hopes to take the recognition a step further with an effort to rename Major’s neighborhood street, Nearway Drive, to Major Jewel McDonald Drive to honor his memory and his impact on the surrounding community.
Even though her father saw some of the worst parts of history, Jacqueline said he always remained joyful and optimistic up to his final days. She hopes his life can inspire others to do the same.
“The takeaway I would take from my father’s life is his love,” Jacqueline said. “His love for mankind … and the forgiving heart that he had for mankind, regardless of the circumstance.”