Dr. William David McDole, 78

Dr. William David McDole, 78, passed away at his home in the Brewer Community February 5, 2023. A loving husband and father, William was born September 9, 1944, to Roy and Majorie Pate McDole and spent his childhood working on their dairy farm in Brewer. Following graduation from Shannon High School, he attended Itawamba Community College and graduated from Mississippi State University. He attended Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree and was sent to Dillard, Georgia, to pastor a Methodist church. It was there he met and married his wife, Margurite Coldren. In 1973, they moved back to Mississippi where he pastored Methodist churches at Guntown, Pleasant Valley and Liberty.

His quest for knowledge led him to leave full-time ministry to pursue a career in pharmacy at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. William received his Doctorate of Pharmacy and worked twenty years at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, specializing in pediatric oncology. While there, he established and oversaw the first residency program for pharmacy students. Despite his busy schedule, he found time to attend every band performance, basketball game, cross country event and school activity that involved his daughters.

Following his wife’s retirement, they returned to Dillard, Georgia, where William continued to work until Parkinson’s disease forced his own retirement. His favorite place was always his home farm in Brewer, where they eventually returned. A man of many talents, William enjoyed hobbies such as studying astronomy, building model airplanes, collecting train sets, writing poetry, and even earning his pilot’s license. He learned to read Greek and Hebrew in order to better understand the scriptures as they were first written. He also enjoyed reading and quoting the Greek philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates and would often study physics, calculus and chemistry textbooks just to better understand science.

A service of Death and Resurrection will be held at Noon Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023 at the Brewer United Methodist Church in Brewer with burial to following the Church Cemetery. Visitation will be from 11 AM-service time on Tue. only at the Church. Holland Funeral Directors is honored to be serving their friends.

William is survived by his wife of 49 years Margurite; two daughters: Laura Maxwell (Michael) of Mobile, Alabama, and Becky Sloan (Steve) of Vicksburg, Mississippi. He is also survived by four grandchildren: Natalie and Caleb Maxwell and Tyler and Kyla Sloan; one sister Melba Farrar (Wayne) and a brother-in-law Gailord Loden, both of the Brewer Community. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Diane Loden.

Pallbearers will be Brian Loden, Jamie Lindsey, Tommy Lauderdale, Gary Lauderdale, Chris Gurner, Mike Tate, David Powell and Stuart Burleson. Honorary pallbearers will be fellow Methodist Minister’s.

Memorials may be made to Brewer United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 1, Shannon, MS. 38868 or to the American Parkinson’s Disease Association, Miss. Chapter, 1040 River Oaks Drive, Suite 203 A, Jackson, MS. 39232. Condolences may be e mailed to hollandfuneraldirectors@comcast.net