A Crosby sculptor whose life story is carved into the very stones which form the city of Liverpool has died.
Terry McDonald, 92, was the talented hand behind many of the city's buildings, such as Lewis's and the old Littlewoods building which is now Primark. He also worked on churches, helping to maintain the Gothic revival-style masonry of the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
He died on Sunday, December 4, of pneumonia following a hip replacement operation at Aintree University Hospital.
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His son Chris, 43, said: "Sculpting was what he lived for, it was what he always wanted to do, and every day of his life he was living his passion. We knew when he could no longer hold a hammer or chisel or pencil, the light would go out.
"Right up until he was able to work, that's when we thought he would lose the will to go on. That didn't happen, and it might have been worse to watch him go slowly that way. Right to the end he was capable and with-it upstairs, and he never lost that passion which kept him going."
Terry, a father of two, found himself captivated by sculpting at the age of four, when he was given a piece of plasticine to play with. His lifelong passion led him to take on a ten-year apprenticeship at the Bluecoat Studios of Tyson Smith, who crafted 26 war memorials throughout his artistic career, including the Liverpool Cenotaph.
After leaving the studio, Terry worked in Lewis’s art department where his first job was the construction of a 16ft Father Christmas mannequin for a festive window display.
Other examples of his work can be found scattered across the city: the vast outside columns of Liverpool Cathedral, and within the Cathedral the bust of WWI hero Noel Chavasse, the Coat of Arms for the Lord Lieutenant of Liverpool Henry Cotton, and the tomb inscription of Archbishop Richard Downey in the crypt of the Metropolitan Cathedral.
But his most popular creation was the Mother and Child. The 12ft clay depiction of a woman draped in cloth, crouched almost primitively as she tenderly cradles her baby, has stood at the entrance of Liverpool Women's Hospital since 1999, watching over countless proud parents as they leave the hospital's maternity wing with their own newborns.
Chris said this was the statue he was most proud of, and added: "He was always quite proud of being able to work on the Cathedral, because it's one of the largest Cathedrals in the world."
In 2014, at the age of 84, Terry created a 7ft tall clay model of Admiral Sir Max Horton, Britain's hero of the Battle of the Atlantic.
He carried on working until shortly before his death, with plans still laid out for future projects, including a bust of his new granddaughter, 10-week-old Sidney, to accompany sculptures he made of his other grandchildren, Emily and Riley.
Chris said: "He was a very loving father, very kind, very dedicated to his work. He always knew what he wanted to do and always focused on the next job. That's what kept him going in the last few weeks, because he was still aiming to get back to his shed and finish his unfinished business.
"There's not many people who have the privilege of doing what they want to do every day of their life, and he managed to do that.
"He was loved by everybody; there have been a lot of people he's helped over the years, trained, and he's well-respected because of that. The people he worked with, especially from the Cathedral, knew what a talent he was. He was the last of a dying breed."
Terry leaves behind his wife Wendy, son Chris, daughter Kate, and his three grandchildren.
In recognition of his dedication to Liverpool Cathedral, he was given the rare honour of being laid to rest in a founder's plot within the historic structure. His ashes will be interred there at a date to be arranged.
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