Dr. Donald Cameron Guild of Jackson, MS went home with the Lord on Saturday August 14, 2021. He had been struggling with several health issues for the past eight years. Dr. Guild was born in New York City in the borough of Queens where his family resided in the neighborhood of Jackson Heights. He was a surprise to his family who already had an 11-year-old daughter, his beloved sister, Dorothy. The family relocated to Tupper Lake in upstate New York where his physician father took a position as chief of staff at the Sunmount Veterans Administration Hospital. He lived in Tupper Lake with his family until the age of eight when his father passed away. Following the death of his father, he and his mother made the long trip back to her home state of Mississippi to make a new life.

Once in Mississippi Dr. Guild and his mother Corinne King Guild settled in the neighborhood of Belhaven in the heart of Jackson. They lived in a tiny apartment on St. Mary Street and his mother went to work teaching English and Latin at the high school in Madison County. When he was fourteen years old his mother was able to purchase a home for them at 1165 Quinn Street in the same neighborhood. He attended Murrah High School and upon graduation enrolled at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. Being of humble means, he was disarmed by how open and friendly everyone at Ole Miss was and spoke fondly of his time there. A gifted student, he continued to excel academically which granted him an early acceptance to the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson. He opted to forgo a college diploma and began his medical education at the state's only medical school at the time. Everyone who knew him would agree that Dr. Guild possessed an uncommon intellect and was also extremely tender hearted. He never met a stranger. Psychiatry was a natural fit for his talents and abilities. After he finished his four-year residency training in psychiatry at UMC he accepted a position at Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfied. Once at Whitfield he went to work caring for the least among us, the forgotten and marginalized severely mentally ill of our state for whom involuntary care was a last resort. Caring for these patients energized and excited Dr. Guild. He liked to think of himself as a helpful person for them, particularly those who were considered lost causes. At Whitfield he had the opportunity to be the chief of staff on the forensic psychiatry unit. His love of the law and eventual pursuit of a doctorate degree in jurisprudence was a natural outgrowth of his fascinating experience caring for mentally ill forensic patients at Whitfield. Dr. Guild enrolled in the Mississippi College School of Law as a night school student and later graduated with his doctorate degree in jurisprudence in 1980. To those close to him he confided that he would take the bar exam but once. He passed. After leaving Whitfield Dr. Guild went on to enjoy a successful private practice in Jackson. He stayed intellectually curious and worked numerous other contract jobs in addition to his private practice including those in the field of addiction medicine in which he eventually was boarded in 2010.

Dr. Guild was a father and despite his many accomplishments was most proud of his six children. He married Sarah Alice Moore of Jackson, MS and this union brought three children Jennifer Guild Trihoulis, Cameron St. Clair Guild (Suzanne) and Donald Grant Guild (Brianne). His three oldest children followed Dr. Guild into the practice of medicine. It was a different time that they grew up in. A time of waiting at the nurse's station while their father did his rounds. It was a time when children could be immersed in the world of a physician parent's work. He later met and married Sharon McCardle of Hazlehurst, MS. He and Sharon had three children, Lindsay Guild Bolinger (Thomas), Davis Carol Guild and Nathan Cameron Guild. His second family brought him much delight and happiness. He described feeling blessed above and beyond what he felt he deserved to be a father again and have another family. He is also survived by his six grandchildren: Andreas Trihoulis, Sydney Trihoulis and Leo Trihoulis of Hattiesburg, Sandon Guild and Alex Guild of Ridgeland and Devin Guild of Philadelphia. To him each of his children and grandchildren were precious gifts. Each of them a unique individual with something to offer the world. He is survived by his two nieces, Anne Rambaud Herren of San Francisco, CA and Carolyn Rambaud Yapchanyk of Pachaug, CT. Dr. Guild saw the best in others. He couldn't help it. It is who he was. His legacy is that this kind of uncommon love is brought to other human beings, especially those experiencing suffering. God bless.

The Guild family wishes to say a special heartfelt thank you to Ellen McLaurin RN who knew our father when both were beginning their careers at Whitfield. Ellen and her employees at Professional Private Duty Nursing kept our father safe and comfortable in his final years. She was an angel in human form, and we could not have done it without her. Visitation will be held from 10:00 – 11:00 am on Saturday, August 28, 2021, at Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home in Flowood with funeral services to follow at 11:00 am in the funeral home chapel. A graveside service will be held at 3:30pm on Saturday at New Albany Cemetery, New Albany.