Michael David Donaldson (Mike), age 78, passed away Saturday, January 1, 2022, at Piedmont Medical Center, Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Mike was born on December 21, 1943, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to the late William Joseph and Camilla Wisdom Donaldson.  He was also preceded in death by his brother Fred Donaldson and his first wife Rachel Thomas Donaldson.

He is survived by his wife Nancy Ruth O’Neill Donaldson, his daughter, Leigh Ann Smith (Karl), of York, and son, Greg Donaldson (Angie), of Charlotte.  He is also survived by his two grandchildren, Austin Donaldson and Heather Turner; his sisters, Becky Campbell and Sherry Donaldson; brother, Steve Donaldson; and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Mike was an active member of the Boy Scouts growing up and ultimately earned the rank Eagle Scout.  He served in the United States Air Force from 1964 to 1968.  During that time, he was stationed at Bitburg AFB in Germany where he was a mechanic for the F102 Delta Dagger fighter jet and KC135 Stratotanker. After the military, Mike was a master technician servicing emergency generators across North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia.  A testament to his loyal character, he worked for 45 years for only two companies—first Owsley & Sons, then Nixon Power Services.  Before retiring in August 2020, Mike trained close to a hundred technicians and mentored dozens.   

Mike loved his family and loved spending time with them.  He coached his son in baseball and his daughter in t-ball for Broadmoor Athletic Association, making friends that became family along the way.  Both his son and daughter have a multitude of memories of watching and attending Nascar races with him, always cheering for Richard Petty. With Mike, rebuilding and restoring classic cars was a family activity.  Along with his brother Fred, brother-in-law Ronnie, and life-long best friend Ron, Mike rebuilt and restored several classic cars.  His favorite was the 1941 Plymouth he restored with his son.  Most recently, he was a member, along with his wife,  of Dixieland Cruisers of Rock Hill, again making friends that became family.  Whatever Mike was doing, he loved to be surrounded by family.

A funeral service will be held, Thursday, January 6, 2022, at 12:00 p.m., at M. L. Ford & Sons Funeral Home, 209 N. Main Street, Clover, SC.  Interment will follow at Gaston Memorial Park, 1200 S. New Hope Road, Gastonia, NC.  A visitation will be held Wednesday, January 5, 2022, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., at M. L. Ford & Sons Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting memorials be made to American Diabetes Association, P..O Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023 or American Kidney Fund, 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852..

Online condolences may be made at www.mlfordsons.com.  M. L. Ford & Sons Funeral Home, Clover, SC, will be serving the Donaldson family.

To send flowers to the family, please visit our floral store.