Willie "W.L." Lott Donald

Willie Lott Donald (W.L) passed away February 2nd, 2020 at age 76. W.L. is survived by his wife, Irene Donald, his two children and their spouses: Joel Donald (Mikeal Donald) and Mandie Duke (TJ Duke). He is preceded in death by his first son Stephen Donald who passed away in 1970. He also leaves behind five grandchildren, Alexander Donald, Catherine Donald, Ansley Salmon, Cara Salmon, and Braxton Duke. W.L. Donald was born in 1943 on October 25th in Gilbertown, Alabama. He is the son of the late Walter and Sadie Donald. W.L is also one of 3 siblings: (Bunk) Walter Braxton Donald (deceased) and (Bill) Jimmie Nathan Donald.  He graduated from Southern Choctaw High School in 1961. A few years later, W.L. and Irene were married at Black Creek Baptist church in June of 1965. W.L. is a Veteran of the Vietnam war, where he served from 1966 through 1967. When he returned from Vietnam, he enrolled in the University of South Alabama and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1971. He started work at Alcoa Aluminum in 1971 while building homes on the side. In the early eighties, Alcoa closed. Instead of transferring out of the area, he started his own construction company -W.L. Donald Builders- where he went on to build custom residential homes up until an accident in 2005 that left him paralyzed. He also went back into mechanical engineering from 1992 to 2003 working for a chemical plant (Elf Atochem later named Arkema) in Axis, Alabama. There he served as one of the company’s construction project engineers. For the past thirteen years, Irene and W.L have resided in Orange Beach, Alabama. W.L always had a passion for working on old cars, collecting coins, and working in his garden. He also rarely missed a western film! W.L., or Paw Paw, was a beloved grandfather, father, husband, and brother whose life is one to celebrate. There will be a memorial service on Tuesday, February 4th at the Bear Point Community Center at 2 o’clock.   ARRANGEMENTS BY WOLFE-BAYVIEW FUNERAL HOMES & CREMATORY, INC. 19698 GREENO RD FAIRHOPE, AL 36532