Julie Jensen McDonald

Julie Jensen McDonald (June 22, 1929 – November 25, 2013) was an American author and educator. Her works include novels and a book about small towns in Iowa and Illinois. She won multiple awards for her work.

Personal life and early career McDonald was born on June 22, 1929, and was born a mile away from Fiscus, Iowa, on a farm. After her father Alfred Jensen died in a tractor accident, McDonald and her mother Myrtle moved to Harlan, Iowa, where she attended elementary school. She became interested in writing as a child and her mother would read McDonald's stories. In sixth grade, McDonald wrote a school play titled "The Whispering Mummy" and its reception encouraged McDonald to write another play. The second play was not as well received as the first one so McDonald decided to write poetry instead. After writing poetry for a few years, McDonald decided to become a journalist. McDonald was unable to join her high school newspaper, but she became an unpaid apprentice at a weekly newspaper. She attended the University of Iowa for journalism and graduated with a bachelor's degree. For one year, McDonald was the woman's editor for the Rockford Register Star in Rockford, Illinois. In the 1950s, McDonald acted for two productions by the Quad City Music Guild. On May 16, 1952, she married Elliott R. McDonald and they first had a daughter named Beth. When Beth was a few weeks old and they were living in Washington, D.C., McDonald decided to write fiction. They later had a son named Elliot Jr. She wrote a romance novel, but refused to say the title of it despite receiving royalties and fan letters. In 2012, McDonald retired after writing for the Rock Island Argus.

Governor Robert D. Ray appointed McDonald as the chairperson of the Iowa Arts Council in 1969 and she served until 1973. She was a Davenport Art Museum trustee and later part of the committee for the Figge Art Museum. McDonald worked for the Midwest Writer's Center as its director. She played the clarinet in the Bettendorf Park Band for more than 40 years. McDonald was also part of the Penwomen, the Danish Sisterhood, the Scottish American Society, among others.

Death McDonald died on November 25, 2013, in the Iowa township Pleasant Valley.