Sherry Jean McDonald

With great sadness, the family of Sherry McDonald of Ellensburg announced that she lost her short battle with cancer on Saturday, December 28, 2019 when she passed away at her much-loved home. Funeral services were conducted on Tuesday, December 31, 2019 in Ellensburg and Sherry was laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Sherry was born March 10, 1941 in Kansas City, Missouri. Raised mainly by her grandparents, she also spent parts of her childhood in the Philippines and Guam.  After returning to the United States, Sherry’s family moved to Seattle, where she graduated from high school.

After marrying at age 18, Sherry had two daughters and a son, whom she loved very much. She worked for many years as a police and fire dispatcher, mainly in Bellevue, where she eventually met her second husband and soulmate, Jack McDonald, who was working for the Bellevue Police Department at the time. They married in 1976. The family lived on the west side of the mountains until the mid-1990’s, when Jack and Sherry retired to Ellensburg where they enjoyed the slower pace of life and their home on Ellensburg Ranches Road, overlooking the Kittitas Valley. 

Sherry was a voracious reader and was extremely knowledgeable about a wide variety of topics. She loved animals, and she and Jack would bring older or rescue horses to their property so that they could spend their last years being gently cared for.  Throughout her life, Sherry was a spiritual seeker and in her last four years came to greatly love the Orthodox Christian faith. She was baptized on Christmas Eve 2016, and she took the name “Mary” in honor of St. Mary of Egypt, a model of repentance and self-sacrifice who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries. 

Sherry will be missed by the family that survives her: Husband of 43 years, Jack McDonald; daughters Suzanne Merritt and Kristine Davis; brother Charles Xaudaro (Diana); sister Carol Xaudaro; grandchildren Thomas Doyle and Michael Davis; nephews Robert Xaudaro and Charles Xaudaro Jr; nieces Summerly Futh, Sharon Xaudaro and Elizabeth Xaudaro; and great-great nieces Alyssa Longnickel, Kelsey Longnickel, and Sara Spencer.  Sherry was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Edward Xaudaro, and her son Scott Bell.  She will also be missed by her parish family at Prophet Elijah Orthodox Mission, leaving them with memories of her vivacious wit, quick laughter, and depth of repentance.

In her last days, Sherry remarked, “My mind is going, but that doesn’t matter anymore because my heart is at peace.” The Orthodox Christian funeral service for Sherry included the words, “Now am I at rest. Now have I found peace. Now have I been taken from corruption. Now have I passed over into life. Glory to Thee, O Lord.” May Sherry Mary’s memory be eternal and may she dwell with the blessed. 

Memorial donations may be made to the Kittitas County Friends of Animals.