First published in the May 14 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
A local woman born in 1918, who is living through her second pandemic, celebrated her 104th birthday on Wednesday.
Dorothy McDonald moved to Burbank with her husband, Tom McDonald, in 1941, according to Dara Shlifka, a spokeswoman for Belmont Village Senior Living, the Burbank facility where she currently resides. Her husband worked at Lockheed Martin, which was headquartered in Burbank, during World War II, and the couple later owned and ran McDonald Decorating Co.
Shlifka also said Dorothy McDonald was active at her North Hollywood church, Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, where she served as president of a women’s group. She was an avid reader until loss of vision caused her to pivot to listening to audiobooks, Shlifka added.
McDonald’s husband died in 1983, with the couple having four children. She now has eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. She moved to Belmont Village in 2002, Shlifka said, and was among the first people to do so.
