TIMELINE

NYPD Det. Steven McDonald — a timeline

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March 1, 1957: Steven McDonald is born in Queens Village.

1964: The McDonald family moves to Rockville Centre.

July 16, 1984:
Steven is appointed to the New York City Police Department.


November 1985: McDonald and Patricia Ann Norris marry at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Malverne.

July 12, 1986: McDonald is shot three times in Central Park by Shavod Jones, 15, while investigating a bicycle theft. The shooting leaves him paralyzed from the neck down.

Jan. 29, 1987:
The couple’s only child, Conor McDonald, is born.

March 1, 1987: Conor is baptized at Bellevue Hospital on his father’s 30th birthday. The family holds a news conference, at which Patti Ann Norris-McDonald reads a statement written by Steven saying he has forgiven his assailant.

Fall 1987:
McDonald returns home to Malverne after spending a year and a half in Bellevue Hospital and the Craig Hospital in Englewood, Colo.

1987: The New York Rangers create the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award: a Ranger is given a trophy and a $25,000 check in his name, made out to the Steven McDonald Foundation.

1987: McDonald begins to speak publicly about his spirituality and the power of forgiveness to organizations and schools in the U.S. and abroad. He will continue doing so for nearly 30 years.

1988:
Steven and Patti Ann accompany the Rev. Mychal Judge, chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, on a European pilgrimage to the Catholic holy sites of Fatima, in Portugal, Lourdes, in France, Medjugorje, in Yugoslavia and Rome, where they meet Pope John Paul II.

1989: McDonald writes his autobiography, “The Steven McDonald Story,” with his wife and writer E. J. Kahn III.

1997: McDonald’s story is published in the book, “Seventy Times Seven” which is retitled,“Why Forgive?” in 2000. The book was written by McDonald’s friend, the Rev. Johann Christoph Arnold. McDonald writes a foreward to the book when it is republished in 2005.

1998, 1999 and 2000: McDonald travels with Judge to Northern Ireland to speak about forgiveness and nonviolent conflict resolution.

1999: McDonald becomes involved in “Breaking the Cycle”, a program started by Arnold where advocates of peace and forgiveness with real-life experiences speak to teenage students throughout the world.

Sept. 11, 2001: Judge is killed during the attacks on the World Trade Center.

2002: McDonald creates the annual Father Mychal Judge Walk of Remembrance, which takes place on the Sunday before the Sept. 11 anniversary in Manhattan. The walk begins with a Mass at St. Francis Church on West 31st Street and proceeds to the World Trade Center, retracing Judge’s route on 9/11.

March 20, 2007:
Patti Ann Norris-McDonald becomes mayor of Malverne.

Jan. 6, 2017:
McDonald suffers a heart attack in his Malverne home.

Jan. 10, 2017:
McDonald dies at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset.