Donald "Donnie" H. McKernan passed away on September 16, 2017 at Haven Hospice in Orange Park, FL. He was born on February 16, 1953 in Suffern, NY, to the late Stanford McKernan and Evelyn Chipman McKernan.

Donnie earned a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in special education. Donnie loved life and teaching children. He was a dedicated special education teacher. He taught for 40 years, 30 of which were in the Clay County School System. He was a sports fanatic who enjoyed golf and basketball, but loved the FSU and Jaguars football teams. Donnie truly cherished his wife, LuAnn, and to him, she was someone very special. After 38 years of marriage, Donnie still enjoyed complimenting LuAnn and showing her off to everyone.

Donnie is survived by his loving wife, LuAnn McKernan; his devoted four-legged furry best friends, dogs Dolly and Kozmo; brothers, Buzz (Valerie) McKernan and Lance (Meryl) Lawton; nephews, Randy (Ann) Glick, Taylor (Nicole) Lawton and Alexander (Patrick) McKernan; nieces, Nicole (Jamie) McCluskey, Tamara (Nate) Lawton and Holly (Marcelo) Avendano; grand nephews and nieces, Connor McKernan, Nathan and Abby Glick, Aidan and Sarah McCluskey, Raine and Willa Lawton and Amber Avendano; a host of friends and many former students who considered Mr. McKernan their teacher and friend.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made in Donnie’s honor to Central and Northern Florida Make-A-Wish Foundation, 1020 N. Orlando Avenue, Suite 100, Maitland, FL 32751, (407) 622-4673.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 3:00 p.m. at Aaron and Burney Bivens Funeral Home, 529 Kingsley Avenue, Orange Park, FL 32073, (904) 264-1233.

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