- Date: 20 May 2021
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Mary “Mitzi” MacDonald
Mary “Mitzi” C. Vater-MacDonald, 88 of Galena, passed away on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. She was born on June 17, 1932, in Enid, OK, the daughter of Celestine Jerome and Mary Ryan Vater. Mitzi obtained a BFA at OSU, Stillwater, and a master’s in social work at UW, Platteville in 1978. Her jobs in Illinois were at Wilson Meat Packing in advertising in Chicago, activities director at Galena Stauss Nursing Home and the YWCA in DBQ, IA, and finally director of the Coatsworth Senior Center in Galena. She was the first woman Rotarian in Galena. She also served on the Galena Zoning Board and participated in many clubs as Great Books in Chicago, The Galena Fortnightly Club, Galena Artists Guild, and the Friday Club at The Log Cabin. Mitzi taught calligraphy, stained glass, and watercolor painting at the Galena ARC in the ’80s and always painted landscapes, portraits in all mediums. Her last work was a poetry book whose proceeds were donated to The Galena Public Library. She is survived by her son, Rory C. MacDonald, Galena, her daughter, Mary-Ryan MacDonald, Lyon, France, and her grandsons Liam Pierre Dieu and Otto MacDonald Sitzes. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brother, Jerome Vater, and Patricia A. Kugel, her longtime friend. Cremation was accorded and a memorial will be scheduled at end of May/early June 2022. Furlong’s Funeral Chapel is assisting the family.