Myrta Robertson Macdonald, 86, of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and a former resident of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, died Tuesday, June 26, 2018, at Pinehurst, North Carolina, following a short illness.
Mrs. Macdonald was born in Sewickley on August 18, 1931, to Harold Foster Robertson and Mary Gardner Robertson. She first lived in Coraopolis Heights and then moved with her family to Scarsdale, New York. She was graduated from Scarsdale High School and then received her A.B. in Theoretical Mathematics from Smith College. She was employed as an actuary for New York Life Insurance in New York City before marrying Somerled Macdonald of Pittsburgh. She returned to Sewickley and was active in the Child Health Association, the Junior League, the Little Sewickley Creek Watershed Association, and the Carnegie Museum Department of Botany. In 1963, she joined the founding administrative staff of the Sewickley Academy Senior School in Edgeworth, Pennsylvania, and retired as the Registrar after twenty-eight years of employment.
She was an avid outdoors woman, camping, biking with her husband, as the faculty advisor to the Academy’s outdoors club. In 1992, she and her husband moved to Whispering Pines, North Carolina, where they resided until they moved to Penick Village in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Mrs. Macdonald served on the Vestry of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Southern Pines and was actively involved as a volunteer. She was a long-time member of the Daughters of the King and supported the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders and Trinity School for Ministry. Later in life, she was an active lay minister at the Chapel of the Transfiguration at Penick Village and served as the Chapel liaison. She also volunteered at their Village Shoppe and was given the first Bill Starke Volunteer of the Year Award.
Mrs. Macdonald was preceded in death by her husband, Somerled, and is survived by her three sons, Dr. Allan R. Macdonald (Echo) of Darlington, South Carolina, the Rev. Canon Dr. John A. Macdonald (Gail) of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, and Mr. David F. Macdonald (Debra) of Gulf Breeze, Florida, along with eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. She is also survived by her sister, Ellen Matthews (Bill), also of Penick Village.
A memorial service and celebration of her faith and life will be held at the Chapel of the Transfiguration, Penick Village, Southern Pines, on July 30, 2018, at 4:00 p.m., with the Revs. Sarah Reith and Mary Curtis officiating.
The family suggests that memorial contributions be made to Trinity School for Ministry, 311 11th Street, Ambridge, Pennsylvania, 15003, or the Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS-USA), P.O. Box 399, Ambridge, Pennsylvania, 15003.
Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com
Boles Funeral Home is serving the family.
Mrs. Macdonald’s family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers at Sandhills Sentinel.
