DONALDSON

Rupert Bruce Donaldson, 82, of Seven Lakes, died Sunday, March 6, 2011, at his home.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 12, at West End Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Larry Lyon officiating. Interment, with military honors, will follow at the West End Community Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 11, at Boles Funeral Home, in Seven Lakes.
Bruce was born Jan. 23, 1929, in the middle bedroom on the Pinehurst Peach Company Orchard. His parents were Robert Bruce Donaldson and Jean Ruth Galloway Donaldson. His father came to West End in 1913 from Charlotte, and his mother was schoolteacher at the Jackson Springs School, having moved from Mt. Gilead. In 1920, Robert established the Pinehurst Peach Company with partners Dr. Lowry and Mode McDonald. The orchard consisted of 1,140 acres of peaches and apples. Bruce always remembered his happy days on the orchard, hauling peaches to New York and driving the local school bus. He and a buddy would drive all night to have the peaches at the market when they opened in the early morning. He often reminisced about transporting German prisoners of war from Camp Mackall to the orchard.
He was active in 4-H and attended Camp Millstone. He was member of the West End High School ball team, which won the N.C. Eastern State Championship in 1947. He graduated in 1947. His home church was West End Presbyterian Church, and after being away for 55 years, again was a member there.
Bruce was a veteran who served in the Army/Air Force 1948–1953. Tours of duty took him to Japan and various posts in the U.S. His career proceeded as a technical representative for IIT/Gilffilan with positions in California, Iceland, France, England and Germany. The position was transferred to the U.S. Army and Air Traffic Control, where he continued his career and retired in 1989. Being a very ambitious fellow, he then pursued real estate development in the Tucson and Sierra Vista, Ariz., area. He was active in Seven Lakes Lions Club, Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club, Jackson Springs Community Club and Moore County Republican Men’s Club. Bruce loved airplanes, good wine and beautiful women.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley; son, Edward Todd Donaldson and wife, Maria Miller Donaldson, of Dallas; daughter, Carol Jean Donaldson, of Norfolk, Va.; the love of his life, Sir Andrew “Andy,” his Westie; special niece, Jeannie Lorraine Donaldson; nephews, Donald Donaldson, of Candor, Jackie Donaldson, of Carolina Beach, David Lawhon, of Wilmington, Charles Lawhon, of Pinehurst, and Robert Lawhon, of Carthage; and numerous great-nieces, great-nephews and cousins.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his beloved brother, Cyrus Monroe Donaldson; sister, Roberta Grace Lawhon; and nephew Walter Rupert Donaldson.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the West End Presbyterian Church, or FirstHealth Hospice and Palliative Care, 150 Applecross Road, Pinehurst, NC 28374. Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com.
Boles Funeral Home of Seven Lakes is serving the family.