Former dean Dona MacDonald "a force to be reckoned with"

Weak from the drugs that kept her alive and just months before she died, Dona MacDonald climbed onto a jungle gym in a small South African village to help her daughter paint.

It was typical of the woman, who even in her final days battling cancer, still reached out to others, said her daughter Mikaela MacDonald, who was working with a youth corps group in South Africa when her parents came to visit.

"She was a role model, a professional woman, an incredible mother and life partner to my dad," she said. "She was a citizen of the world and a true humanitarian."

Mrs. MacDonald died of breast cancer on March 26, two days before her 62nd birthday.

Born and raised in Montana, Mrs. MacDonald, the oldest of five children, attended Loyola University and Boston College for graduate school.

She moved to Seattle to work at Seattle University and became the nation's youngest dean for women at age 26.

During her time at the university, Mrs. MacDonald founded the Seattle University child-care center, the state's first such center at a private university, said her family.

John Eshelman, former provost at Seattle University and now interim vice president for finance, said his daughter attended the day-care center that Mrs. MacDonald started.

"She was the spark behind it," he said. "It had a real diversity at a time when there weren't a lot of day-care centers with that kind of diversity. It reflected the university and Dona MacDonald's own values."

Mrs. MacDonald's husband of 28 years, Steve Boyd, said she was proud of the center. "She took great pride on helping women coming back to school, people of color who needed family support."

The couple met when she worked at Seattle University and he was student body president at the University of Washington.

"We courted and danced around our relationship for eight years until, on July 4, 1976, she asked me to marry her," Boyd said. "She was a force to be reckoned with."

Living with dignity

He said she was diagnosed with cancer three years ago but didn't let it slow her down. "She was a remarkable person and lived with a tremendous amount of grace, dignity and beauty," he said. "She was a bright spirit in the middle of it."

Mrs. MacDonald lost her hair during cancer treatment and never wore a scarf or a wig, Boyd said. "She believed you had to be who you were out in the world and people take you for what and who you were."

In 2003, he said, she was given four months to live. "She just knew it wasn't time for her to go," he said.

Mrs. MacDonald served on the board of directors of the University YWCA for six years and was on the board of the Matt Talbott Center and the Laurelhurst Community Center. She helped start the St. Bridget's program for the Sacred Heart Shelter and served on the board of trustees for University Prep, chairing the school's diversity committee.

When Erica Hamlin moved to Seattle three years ago to take over as the head of University Prep, Mrs. MacDonald was unsurpassed in making her feel welcome.

"She knew exactly what this transition involved," Hamlin said. "She reached out to everyone who came across her path. She was an icon the way she went through this illness with never a complaint. She didn't have a false front."

In 1976, Mrs. MacDonald founded MacDonald and Associates, a leadership and organizational development company. Her husband joined her a few years later, creating MacDonald, Boyd and Associates.

Boyd said she loved to garden and that their house is filled with plants. She died in a chair overlooking her Laurelhurst garden, one she called her victory garden, he said.

Mrs. MacDonald also loved rehabilitating old houses and spending time at Flathead Lake in Montana. She formed a women's investment group and, with a dozen other women, was successful in investing.

Just two months ago she and her husband made a final trip to Hawaii so she could snorkel, one of her passions.

"She was an inspiration"

Daughter Maia MacDonald said her mother once met a man through the Millionair Club, offered him a job doing yardwork at their home and eventually found him an apartment and a steady job with a painting company.

"She was an inspiration," said Maia MacDonald. "She instilled in us so much of her teaching. She left us with the most amazing family and group of friends we could ever ask for, which made our grieving process a lighter load."

In addition to her husband and daughters, Mrs. MacDonald is survived by sister Dale Auffenberg of St. Louis, sister Shelly Francesconi of Portland, and brother Scott MacDonald of Bellevue. Another brother, Ron, preceded her in death.

A memorial service celebrating her life will be held Saturday, April 8, at 11 a.m. at the Chapel of St. Ignatius at Seattle University.

The family asks that memorials be sent to The Sacred Heart Shelter, 232 Warren Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 or the Whidbey Institute, P.O. Box 57, Clinton, WA 98236.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com