Donald Chandler

After high school, I studied Architecture at Georgia Tech (1968-1971) and then transferred to the University of Georgia where I graduated in early 1973 with a Batchelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design. I went job hunting in Atlanta and in April 1973 got a job with the City of Atlanta Model Cities Program / Department of Community and Human Development, as a Graphic Arts Technician and Photographer. In January 1979 I resigned my position to go into business for myself as a free-lance Graphic Designer.

My own church was one of my design clients, and it was there in 1981 that I met my soul-mate and best friend, Elizabeth Ann (Liz) Parker, a bookkeeper for Atlanta Radiology Consultants at St. Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta. Liz and I were married in September 1982 and settled down in Marietta where we bought our home in 1985. I moved my office from Peachtree Road to a studio in our home where I continue to work.

One of the darkest days in my life came in January 1988 when I received the news that my twin brother Ron (a smoker since grade school) was diagnosed with lung cancer. After more than a year, and a roller coaster of good news followed by bad, Ron died in July 1989 at just 38 years of age. I had a very difficult time with his death. Unfortunately this sad episode was followed immediately by the news that my older sister Helen was diagnosed with melanoma, and she died in May 1991.

Liz and I have enjoyed traveling a lot and have visited much of this beautiful country. We have been very active in our church, she with the choir and I with missions and other ministries. In 1999 we participated in a short-term mission trip to Kaliningrad, Russia to minister to and raise funds for several orphanages, and in 2000 we took part in a wonderful study tour of Israel.

I have been blessed with good health, but in July 2001 at 50 years of age I had a near fatal reaction to a medication (Baycol) that I took for high cholesterol. After being hospitalized with Rhabdomyolisis for seven days, I was very fortunate to survive. Many who took Baycol did not, and it was taken off the market less than two weeks after I was released from the hospital. Every day of my life since then has been icing on the cake! God is good!

Liz was forced into early retirement in 2005 and has had three major back surgeries, so we don't travel as much as we used to. But life is good! I enjoy my photography, church fellowship, visiting family, e-mail, Braves baseball, Bulldogs football, studying history, genealogy, and following politics and current events on Fox News. My professional work has taken a new direction recently with a couple of major writing projects that I really love! I'm not even thinking about retirement. Time will tell where it all leads, but Liz and I just celebrated our 25th anniversary last fall and are still enjoying the journey together, even with all its ups and downs.

When we graduated in June 1968, the Oglethorpe Echo ran a picture of the "Top Six Graduates at OCHS". I was included, but unfortunately they identified me in the tagline as "Ronald Chandler". Ron got the biggest kick out of that, and I still have to grin every time I think about it.