Marianne Michele McDonnal

January 6, 1928 - January 22, 2024

Obituary

Marianne Michele McDonnal (née Rackleff) passed away on January 22, 2024 at the age of 96 years. Marianne came down with pneumonia in early January and spent the last days of her life surrounded by family at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington.

Marianne’s children and her extended family will cherish their memories of her: Mick and his wife Huijun and their children Grant, Evan, Catherine and Connie (and husband Justin); Jack and his fiancée Darling and his children Patrick, Matthew, Katie and Bailey; Sheila and her husband Jim; Doug and his wife Lisa and their children Adrian (and fiancée Sara) and Sophie (and husband Thomas). Marianne’s husband Bill passed away January 2, 2018 after 67 years of marriage. She is also lovingly remembered by Bill’s sister Maribel, Bill’s brother Fred and sister-in-law Marie, and their sister-in-law Virginia.

Marianne was born on January 6, 1928 in Coos Bay, Oregon to Maybelle (Ireland) and David Rackleff. She grew up in nearby Coquille and graduated from Oregon State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She and Bill met at OSU, and they married in June, 1950. Their long life together took them to Portland OR, Spokane WA, Tarrytown NY, Tarzana CA, Mercer Island WA, Boeblingen (West Germany), and primarily Saratoga, CA — all as part of Bill’s career with IBM. In 2006, they relocated to Los Altos, CA. After Bill passed away in 2018, Marianne moved to Seattle, WA and spent her final years at the Mirabella retirement community.

Marianne was a high school teacher in the Portland area before devoting herself to raising their four children. She volunteered for numerous organizations in her community, among them: Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, the Montalvo Arts Center Service Group (where she served as President, Vice President and Treasurer), the Saratoga Foothill Club, St Andrew’s Episcopal Church’s Echo Shop, and Friends of Saratoga Libraries’ Book-Go-Round.

Marianne and Bill traveled much of the world into their 80s, and they especially loved their vacations in Hawaii. Marianne was well known for her fondness of dogs, especially their many pet pugs; for being a gracious host; and for her wry sense of humor, which she kept till the very end. Marianne’s family will hold dear many memories from her life — most recently that included drinking lattes while gazing over the dog park and eating pizza while watching baseball at the Mirabella.

A small memorial of Marianne’s life will be held for close friends and family in March. Donations in Marianne’s memory may be made by cash or check made payable to Mirabella Seattle Employee Appreciation Fund and sent to:

Mirabella Seattle Employee Appreciation Fund c/o Travis Duncan

116 Fairview Ave N

Seattle, WA 98109