Ray J. McDonald: Marine, Physical Therapist and Sports Trainer

This article is part of a series which focuses on notable people who have at one time called the Cove home.

"He was a person with goals in mind when he was a child to change things," Joe McDonald said of his father, Ray.   

Born in Sproul in 1922, Ray J. McDonald had some hills to climb, one of them being the death of his father at the age of 16. Ray had to assist in helping a family of six. That was back in 1938.

McDonald enlisted to go to World War II. He joined the Marines. It was in his third year in battle when he was in The Pacific Division and the Japanese blew up the ship. He was blown off of the ship. He was missing in action for four days and presumed dead.

Joe was then sent to Walter Reed Hospital, where his second life-changing experience occurred.  

Back in the 1940s, there were no physical therapy clinics or rehabs for soldiers. Physical therapy was done by doctors and nurses. Joe says that his dad looked at that and knew that was where he needed to be.

McDonald's always believed in helping people. With the GI Bill and assistance from some people, he spent 80 years earning degrees from Penn State University, the Medical College of Virginia, and New York University.  

He was one of the first graduates with a master's degree in physical therapy in the United States. Joe said that his father was the first licensed physical therapist in Blair County. 

He was working at the VA Hospital when he first saw a child who had cerebral palsy.  

That was his next life-changing experience. McDonald focused the remaining part of his life on trying to get these children to walk.  

There was a non-profit organization called Easter Seals across the United States. He helped to bring the organization to the state of Pennsylvania.  He opened four clinics in four different counties, including Blair, Bedford, Clearfield, and Lycoming Counties.  

Ray McDonald became so well known, that people came from Pittsburgh and Harrisburg to see him.  

Dr. Kantz, an orthopedic surgeon from Philadelphia, specialized in cerebral palsy patients. He would visit Ray once a month and they would conduct a clinic.  

People from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, with children who had these issues, would make appointments to see McDonald.

Joe adds that it was rewarding to his father, personally, because he was one of those people who wanted to see the braces come off and have those kids walk. 

"He was one of those people who looked at things and wanted to see how he could change people's lives for the better," Joe said.

He said his mother was a registered nurse and assisted him in the Easter Seals Campaign.

She is the one who created this idea and tried to get him into The Claysburg Hall of Fame.  

"She would have been proud of this because they were both from Claysburg. They cherished this town," Joe said. "They thought that the world revolved around Claysburg because it was such a family-oriented town. If she were alive today, she would be so happy."

He said that his father was a small-town guy.  

"He was never into the high-end look-at-me type of thing," Joe said. "He was one of those people who stayed low-key and became well-known for that. He wasn't the type of guy who sought fame and fortune. He was the guy who liked to help people who needed help."

For his time served in the war, Ray received the Purple Heart.  

Joe said when his father enlisted in the Marines, they put him in the clean-up operation when they battled in the South Pacific.

"They would go from island to island, and they brought his platoon in and they would clean up and take out small little pockets of enemy warfare," he said. "He was more or less a tunnel rat. He would go into tunnels and things like that and get the enemy."

Joe said that it wasn't anything that he was either proud of or wanted to remember.  

"Like all WWII Veterans, he very seldom talked about that," he said. 

Toward the end of his career in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ray became a sports trainer.

There was no such thing at the time. Joe said that there was a dire need for people to look at things on the field and his dad volunteered his time to local high schools.

He would see student athletes. Joe said that he saw people such as Wade Schalles, a famous local wrestler. He said that Mike Reid would come to the house all of the time.

In 1976, Ray was the trainer for the Big 33 Classic when it was held locally.

Joe said that Dan Marino had a slight injury, so he came up to the house.

"That was the norm to see people like that," he said.

Joe said that his dad was a good man.

"He was one of those people, who never cared too much about the dollar. He just cared about people. He wanted everybody to have a fair chance in life."