Marriage and friendships lead MacNair to honor wife’s memory with a new scholarship

In October, L. Donald (Duke) MacNair ’66 established an endowed scholarship in honor of his wife who passed away in June 2022. The Gayle Slater MacNair Endowed Scholarship, which will support a female student majoring in finance, is not only memorable, says Duke, “but earned on my wife’s behalf and her love for Nichols and our friends.” He reflects on his life at and after Nichols and his marriage, which he describes as a “Nichols-inspired event.”

I was born in the Bronx and lived in New Jersey where I learned of Nichols from Jerry O’Connor, owner of a family supermarket in our hometown of Berkeley Heights and a graduate of Nichols when it was a junior college. He was aware of my sorted (nothing illegal) academic background, but he also had faith that I would find success in sales and believed Nichols was the answer if I was to continue my education. Fast forward to one big hiccup; I forgot to take finals one semester and my GPA of 0.20 earned a good-bye, Duke. But, like all the great ones, I reapplied and was awarded the comeback of the year, earning honors! It was without question the right path to take.

Upon returning home, I worked in the electronics industry. After being vice president of sales at TDK Corporation for five years, I assumed a similar position for a small offshoot of Pioneer Electronics because an office opened only miles from my home. Five years later I joined the mother company. I retired 30 years later as sales director.

Gayle was an accomplished artist. We enjoyed many trips to Paris and Florence, as well as many extended visits around Europe and the United States. During our later years, we entered the world of cruising which took us through Alaska, parts of Mexico, the Hawaiian Islands, Spain, Sicily, Croatia and many Western islands.

The third Saturday in September 1965, my wonderful friend Phil Collins ’66 joined me at a local watering hole and announced he had met my perfect mate while on a recent road trip to Green Mountain College. The next day, I was introduced, met Gayle Slater and off we went to Bernardo’s Tap Room, a local bar/restaurant. The owner’s son, Joe, also went to Nichols. That was the start of a relationship that flourished, and I soon realized it was a serious bond which resulted in engagement and marriage upon my return from Vietnam in 1968.

Upon graduation I was drafted and spent two years with Uncle Sam, one of which was in the sunny, warm, humid jungles of Vietnam. On our floor at Budleigh in our senior year, we had a commander of SEAL Team Two and two Vietnam tours, an aviator with mission upon mission in his F4 over Vietnam. Add to that two Marines, five Navy men, five Army guys, and one Secret Service agent who was killed in the line of duty. That makes 15 Nichols fellows on one dorm floor. John Jablonski ’66 earned the Distinguished Service Medal, a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. John had a reserved space in Webster at the town cemetery. Maybe drop by, send flowers, or contribute in John’s name; it will make you feel good. John was killed in action on a reconnaissance mission on 8 August 1968 at 14:30 hours. On 8 August 1968 at 15:00 hours, Sgt. Duke MacNair boarded a plane leaving Vietnam on the way back to the world.

Without question, we were very fortunate to have met each other and be together. And while no trip is perfect, ours was indeed a full trip. Our son J.D. graduated from Pfeiffer University and has offices with Re-Max in the Charleston area. His wife is a nurse at Medical University of South Carolina. My grandson Houston graduated from The Citadel and spent a year at the London School of Business. He will be married in May.

I would be remiss if I did not mention a few Nichols items that have always held a position in my mind. At the top of my list are the friendships that I truly enjoyed then and even more so now. This includes the unique friendships enjoyed by the wives of our Nichols group. It is exceptional to think that many of our classmates also enjoyed long unions (ours was almost 55 years), and in many cases with greater longevity than we had shared.

Be proud of your association with Nichols, be proud of your efforts, take good care of yourself and fulfill your obligation in taking/sharing care of your family.