Pamela Marie McDonald
Pam McDonald was a woman of faith and family who will be missed greatly.
On Jan. 17, 2024, Pamela Marie McDonald went home to her Lord and Savior.
Pam was born July 13, 1952, in Colville, Wash., to Robert and Eunice Ball, joining her brothers, Michael and Robbin. Pam attended K-12 school in Soap Lake, Wash., where Robert and Eunice both taught, graduating in 1970. Pam was very involved in school activities, such as band, sports, pep club and cheerleading.
Pam attended college at Central Washington University and Multnomah University. After graduation, she lived and worked in Seattle, where she met the love of her life, Tim McDonald. Following their marriage in 1982, Tim left the Coast Guard and they started seminary in Rockport, Massachusetts. Tim and Pam moved to Okanogan, Wash., when Tim took the pastoral position at the First Baptist Church there. They adopted two children, Desiree and Joshua, completing their family. Pam ran a daycare, worked as a preschool teacher and at the Crisis Pregnancy Center. Following the loss of Tim and Desiree in 2002, she and Josh continued to live in Okanogan. She returned to Soap Lake and her childhood home to care for her mother in 2011. She was the teacher at Hosanna Preschool in Ephrata until her retirement. Pam touched the lives of hundreds of children and families in her many years of life and work.
Pam loved the Lord. Her church communities, near and far, were always a very important part of her life. It brought her great joy to serve youth, her church and her mission work. Pam was a bright light and a friend to all who knew her. She kept in touch with people from all walks of her life, and everyone meant something special to her. Pam also enjoyed many trips and adventures and was blessed to spend that time with friends and family she loved. Her last bucket-list trip was to Mt. Rushmore in June 2023 with her girlfriends of 65+ years.
Pam is survived by her son, Joshua (Rachelle) McDonald, brothers Michael (Catherine) and Robbin (Robin) Ball, mother-in-law Bonnie McDonald, sister-in-law Terri (Wayne) Wilkinson and brother-in-law Rick (Candea) McDonald-Smartlowit, and numerous nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in passing by her parents Robert and Eunice Ball, father-in-law Maurice McDonald, husband Timothy, daughter Desiree and sister-in-law Lilly Ball.
Pam’s celebration of life will be Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, at 1 p.m. at the Community Church of Ephrata (54 K St. SE, Ephrata).