Doral Lynn 'Butch' McGee, 82

Doral Lynn “Butch" McGee passed away at the Idaho State Veterans Home in Post Falls on July 14, 2024, from a rare cancer related to the exposure of Agent Orange in Vietnam, a service-connected condition. Major McGee served over 20 years, both as a commissioned officer (Lt. & Capt.) and noncommissioned officer (MSgt) in the United States Air Force, retiring at the rank of Major. His duty stations were: Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Fairchild AFB, Wash.; Danang & Phu Cat Air Bases in Vietnam; Peterson AFB, Colo.; Tyndall AF, Fla., and Hahn AB, Germany, for eight years. 

Doral was born to Albert Benjamin McGee and Dorothy Erickson McGee on Aug. 17 1941, at his parent’s home in Lake Mills, Wis. He shared many fond memories of growing up with his sister, Patricia, in Wisconsin and Illinois, graduating in 1959 from a small-town high school in Byron, Ill., where he played trumpet in the school band. Doral received an Associate of Arts Degree in 1962 from Bakersfield College, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business from San Jose State in 1964, and a Master of Science in Management from Troy State in 1983 during his service in Germany.

While stationed at Mountain Home, Idaho, Butch met an on-base fifth grade school teacher, Connie Nelson, from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. They married July 31, 1966, in her hometown and were blessed with the birth of their three children — Trina at Mountain Home AFB in 1967, Derek in 1968 in Coeur d’Alene while Butch was in Vietnam, and Elena at Hahn AB, Germany, in 1973. 

Retiring from the Air Force in Germany, Doral and his wife moved back to Coeur d’Alene to build a home on their French Gulch country property east of Coeur d’Alene, with the help of relatives under the supervision of his father-in-law, Contractor Elton Nelson. Butch enjoyed working at Ernst, Eagles and Lowe’s after military retirement helping customers find what they needed or referring them to another store. 

The man - Butch was steadfast in his devotion to “God, Family, and Country.” He was proudly confirmed in the Lutheran Faith at Worms, Germany. Butch enjoyed sharing with others stories of family adventures — from Volksmarches, scouting and Masonic work in Germany to loading 4-H sheep and pigs in his truck to haul to the fair, to hauling his granddaughter’s horse to rodeo events, to hunting and doing the first skinning of his deer under the supervision of his father-in-law, to caring for small farm animals, to giving rides on his tractor to his grandchildren, and even to plowing the long windy driveway up the ridge after a snowstorm. He was rarely sick and could brag about never missing a day of work.

Doral’s affiliations: Grand Lodge of A.F. & A.M. of Idaho (33 degree Mason); Kootenai Lodge No. 24 AF & AM, Hayden, Idaho; Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons of Idaho, Keystone Chapter No. 29; The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry — Valley of Coeur d’Alene, Orient of Idaho; Coeur d’Alene Commandery No. 5, Knights Templar, Hayden, Idaho; Emerald Council No. 8 Cryptic Masons, Hayden, Idaho; St. Patrick Conclave Red Cross of Constantine and Appendant Orders; The Grand Council Order of High Priesthood of Idaho; Calam Temple Legion of Honor of the International Association Legions of Honor & Locomotive Unit; Queen Esther Chapter No. 12, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Manuel Schneidmiller American Legion Post No. 154, Rathdrum, Idaho; Trinity Lutheran Church, and the Museum of North Idaho.  

Preceding Doral were his parents, Albert B. McGee and Dorothy E. McGee, and his sister, Patricia A. Anderson. 

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Connie L. Nelson McGee of Hayden, Idaho. Also by his three children, Trina C. Caudle of Hayden, Idaho, Derek S. McGee (Diana) of Rathdrum, Idaho, and Elena A. Nelson of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and his nine grandchildren: Amanda Harrington (Will) and children Alexander and Honor Elizabeth of Idaho Falls, Idaho; Jesse (Hailey) Caudle of Renton, Wash.; Garret Caudle of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Erika Claggett and son Caber of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Jessica Dretke (Ian) and son Walker of Athol, Idaho; Dirk Nelson of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Ashley Sparks of St. Cloud, Minn.; Logan and Zach McGee of Rathdrum, Idaho, and four great-grandchildren with another on the way. 

Funeral arrangements are being made by English Funeral Chapel. A graveside service for family and friends is scheduled for July 29 at 10 a.m. at the Masonic section of the Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, followed by a gathering with coffee and cookies at Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene.

Please consider donating to the Shriners Children’s (911 W. Fifth Ave., Spokane, WA 99204) in Doral’s name.