Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Sally Zuck McBain passed away peacefully on April 28, 2024, at The Dalles Health and Rehab Center in The Dalles, Ore., where she had been in comfort care since early January following a stroke just prior to Christmas.
Sally was born Nov. 10, 1947, in Erie, Pa., to Clark and Aleta Zuck. She is survived by her husband, Kenneth A. McBain, of The Dalles; two sons, Matthew Jones and his wife Denise of Barcelona, Spain, and Timothy Jones of Seattle, Wash., with two grandchildren, Nordika and Vienna Jones, and their mother, Kristen Choiniere; and siblings Mark Zuck and Todd Zuck of Fairview, Pa., and Christine Jacobsen of San Antonio, Texas. She also leaves behind her cherished dog, Mitzi.
Following high school graduation in Erie, Sally attended three years at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where she met and married William Jones. While he attended Case Western Reserve Medial School in Cleveland, Sally obtained her BA degree at Cleveland State University. Following William’s internship at the University of Virginia Medical School, the couple moved to Zuni, N.M., for William’s two-year stint with the public health service on the Zuni Reservation. It was there that Sally developed a deep affection for the southwest and Native American culture.
Following divorce, Sally pursued extensive master’s level coursework in Gerontology at the University of Oregon in Eugene. She then began a 25-year career in senior services, including counselor at a senior service program in Ontario, Ore., co-owner with her then husband, Michael Sirrine, of MLE In-Home Services in LaGrande, Ore., nine years as executive director of the Area Agency on Aging in The Dalles, and founding director of the Wyoming Gerontological Association in Casper, Wyo. During her years in Oregon, Sally wrote a bi-monthly column for several local newspapers and hosted weekly radio programs.
Sally and Ken were married on Dec. 28, 1993, in The Dalles, moving to Carson City, Nev., in 1995. The couple moved to Casper in 2001, where Sally worked with the American Cancer Society along with the WGA. Both Ken and Sally retired in 2004 and relocated to Madoc, Ontario, Canada, where most of Ken’s family lived. They returned to The U.S. (Erie) in late 2009 to help care for Sally’s parents and following their passing, returned to The Dalles in 2010. Sally always considered the Columbia River Gorge her home.
Sally was a lifetime artist (watercolors), photographer and writer. She blogged about aging for several years and published a most unique book — “Soul Portrait: Improving Quality of Life by Making Aging Personal,” published by Dog-Ear Publishing in 2012. Along with her book, she has more than 200 poems copyrighted with the Library of Congress.
There will be no memorial services, with cremation provided by Bateman Carroll Funeral Home in Gresham, Ore. Her ashes will be dispersed by her husband and sons at an undisclosed location. If anyone wishes to make a donation in her memory, her favorite organizations were The Audubon Society and The Nature conservancy.
To plant a tree in memory of Sally McBain as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
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Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
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Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.