Laura McDonald Memorial

Thomas Moran is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Beloved Mom and Wife, Laura McDonald passed away far too soon.

We are building a red tee box on hole #3 at Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring, MD.

Donations will be used for this, with any and all extra going to the ALS Association DC/MD/VA.

Mike McDonald's message from May 21st:

"I first of all want to thank everyone for all your support and prayers.

Laura was truly loved and we will miss her very much.

As one country song puts it “I guess it's not what you take when you leave this world behind you, It's what you leave behind you when you go"

Laura has affected many lives over the years in special ways, from our children, to making me a better man and enhancing many people’s lives.

I am sure that Laura has touched your lives but I would like to share how she has touched the world.

Laura and I met at the University of Louisville, after she picked me out of the crowd and told her friend sitting next to her “I want to go out with him.” And I thought it was my idea!

I graduated a year later and moved up to Washington, DC.

We were engaged several months later after she responded “Huh?” to my proposal in front of the Washington Monument.

We would have been married 35 years on May 31st.

After we were engaged and planning our upcoming lives together, we discussed that we could make it even if she had to flip burgers at McDonald’s. Of course when she moved up here, she immediately was hired and made more than I did.

Laura and I are very fortunate to have 2 very awesome children. People have always told us that there was no doubt that Jake and Emily were ours, both in looks and personality. (Even though Laura & I were doubting that during Jake’s teenage years)

She was helping both of them with their houses this past fall and was able to spend some quality time with them before she became ill. I see her, every time I look at them.

Laura and I were very fortunate that she was able to retire 2 years ago. This allowed her to start doing more of the things that she loved and to help me with many things. This also allowed her to play more golf and to work out in our yard, which is absolutely gorgeous.

Before that, Laura taught sewing and knitting to hundreds of adults and children over a 15 year period. They loved her classes and she loved teaching the children. It was amazing how they kept coming back for her classes and kept learning new skills. It is a skill that they will have for the rest of their life, that they may have never learned if it was not for Laura. She also made hundreds of costumes over a 13 year period for St. John the Baptist annual musicals. The dresses and costume were a work of art and one of her students assumed the costume duties from Laura.

Before that, Laura was an interior designer at the Library of Congress where she did projects ranging from the African Reading Room to the Employee Daycare Center. She really enjoyed not only the design projects but improving people’s lives by designing their work spaces for them. She made some wonderful friends there and her fellow designers still get together several times a year. While working with the Day Care Center, a daughter of her friend was looking for a summer job and Laura was able to help her to get a job at the day care center. Once she started working, she found that is what she wanted to do with her life and is now a teacher.

Laura will be missed by all of us but she also lives on in all of us.

We will be having a Celebration of Life for Laura at Argyle, as soon as we are able to safely come together.

Again, thank you for all your support for both Laura & I during these difficult times."

Mike McDonald