James A. McDonald

ORANGE, Va. – James A. McDonald (to his family, “Beepa”), 88, of Ashburn, Va., passed peacefully on Friday, June 13, 2025, at Morningside House in Fredericksburg, Va., surrounded by family.

Jim was born on Aug. 26, 1936, in Portland. He grew up in Portland and graduated from Cheverus High School. After graduation, Jim began his career with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He also served in the Army. He married Elgetha C. Pallang in Portland, Jan. 7, 1961. As they started their family, they had many travels from Massachusetts to Alaska to West Virginia, and finally settled in Loudoun County in 1969. They were active members of St. Joseph’s Church in Herndon, Va. Jim had a long and successful career with the FAA as an air traffic controller at Dulles airport and went on to work for MWAA as the Ramp Tower Manager there after he retired from the FAA. He continued working until December of 2015. He was commonly referred to as the “Mayor” of Dulles airport.

He is survived by his sons Mark, Paul, James, and Stephen McDonald; daughters-in-law Jennifer, Patricia, Sydney, and Melanie; 15 grandchildren, Matthew, Madeline, Emily, Gavin, Makenzie, Paul, Kevin, Mitchell, Jake, Michael, Grant, Blake, Patrick, Jillian, and Jack; great-grandchildren Calvin, Camilla, Harvey, Ari, Collins, and Joseph; sister, Grace Bernier; and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his loving wife of 61 years, Elgetha C. McDonald.

Beepa loved spending time with his family, aviation and taking long bike rides on the W&OD trail. He instilled a love for the outdoors and activity with his four sons on scouting and camping trips, attended countless football games and swim meets and went on to enjoy riding bikes, going to the Dinosaur Park, and sharing meals when his grandchildren visited. He could be a bit of a character and loved getting a reaction from Grammy, but will be remembered as a hard-working, good man who supported and loved his family.

A Funeral Mass was on Tuesday, June 17, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Fredericksburg, Va. Interment followed in Laurel Hill Memorial Park, Spotsylvania, Va.

Online guest book is available at covenantfuneralservice.com.

In lieu of flowers, please contact your local Catholic church and have a Mass said in his name.