William "Billy" Mcdonald

MADISON- Billy McDonald passed away at Agrace Hospice on Wednesday, August 11, 2020. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin on April 2, 1932 and lived here all of his life.  He was born to Anna Mae Mitchell and James Cornell McDonald with Ernest Mitchell becoming a second father to him.

Billy graduated from Central High School in 1950, attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison and remained a loyal Central Alumnus and an avid Badger fan all of his life.  He worked for the UW Agriculture School from April 1959 to April 1994.  His love for Badger sports lead him to work for the UW Athletic Department for 10 years as a score keeper for both Men’s and Women’s Basketball and Women’s Volleyball.  In 1974, he started working at Finish Line for high school and UW track. In his retirement, he became a volunteer in research at the State Historical Library and his favorite hangouts were George Fabian’s Park St. Shoe Shop and he became a fixture at Barnes and Noble Book stores.  Motorcycle riding and junk shopping were two of his favorite hobbies.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Kwame McDonald.  Survivors include siblings, Jack Mitchell (Pat), Carolyn Hargrove, Betty Banks, and Emma Earl of Madison; Ralph Mitchell (LaMonica) of North Carolina, Arlene Grice (Michael) of Michigan and Evette Mitchell of Arizona.  Nieces, Sheila Greene, Shari Darkeeyah Mitchell, Carla Philips, Georgia, Dana Roc (August), Shauna Mitchell, New York, Denise Hicks (Anthony), Deirdre Krieghoff (Eric), Madison,  Nephews, Alan Banks of Madison, Mitchell McDonald of Minnesota, Darel Hargrove of Tennessee, Devin Hargrove of Florida, Jay Mitchell of Michigan, Max Marion and Marcus Marion(Starr) of Texas, Ernest Mitchell(Lauren) and Mason Mitchell (Holly) of North Carolina; and a host of great nieces and nephews.  A small graveside service will be conducted in the coming weeks at Forest Hill Cemetery.