1921 – 2013

DE FUNIAK SPRINGS, Fla. — Charles Everett “Buster” Donnell passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 7, at Chautauqua Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in De Funiak Springs, Fla.

A longtime resident of Bob Hope Village in Shalimar, Fla., Buster was born in Lewiston on March 17, 1921, to Floyd and Olivet Donnell.

Buster, a retired senior master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, served in both the U.S. Army and Air Force from 1937-1964. He is the recipient of numerous medals and awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry’s Badge, and multiple campaign and battle ribbons for his service during WWII and Korea. Buster is best-known for being an original member of the famous Merrill’s Marauders of WWII, the birth of the Army Rangers.

A true patriot, he was loved by everyone he came in contact with. He served as an advisor, mentor, storyteller and “adopted grandfather” to many active duty military and veterans alike in the Eglin Air Force/Hurlburt Army Base area. He had a special place in his heart for the U.S. Army Rangers and the U.S. Air Force Special Operations.

Buster was a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Order of Elks and the VFW.

He is survived by his current wife, Geraldine Roebuck-Donnell; sister, Ruth Caron of Lewiston; daughter and son-in-law, Patty and Bob Hesse of Oxford; grandchildren, Michael Burnham and his wife, Nita, and Jessica Lippincott of Maricopa, Ariz.; great-grandchildren, Nicole Burnham of Mesa, Ariz., and McKayla Burnham and Hayden Lippincott of Maricopa, Ariz.; and stepdaughters, Krystal and Readenna of North Carolina.

He will be laid to rest near his first wife of 50 years, Yvette St. Germaine-Donnell, who passed away in 1995. He was also predeceased by his parents.