Jessie Marie O'Neal Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Beloved resident of Chelan, WA, Jessie Marie (McMonagle) O'Neal passed away peacefully at her home on July 6, 2020, eleven days after her 94th birthday. She was born Jun 25, 1926, the first daughter of Charles and Sigrid (Brun) McMonagle, in the home of her maternal Norwegian grandparents in Mica, WA. The McMonagle's moved to Chelan around 1933 and opened Mac Chevrolet Dealership. Jessie was voted "Princess Chelan" before graduating from Chelan High School in 1944, a year in which the Apple Blossom Festival was cancelled due to World War II. That fall, on September 3, 1944, Jessie married her high school sweetheart, Raymond Clerc "Toad" O'Neal and they enjoyed a brief honeymoon at nearby Patterson Lake. Jessie said "it seemed like the whole town of Chelan was there fishing that Labor Day weekend!" Jessie worked at the Seattle First Bank following high school in Chelan and briefly near Bremerton while Toad was stationed prior to his departure to the South Pacific on the battleship U.S.S. Indiana. Jessie and Toad spent three happy months living in a "rat trappy" Bremerton hotel room, two blocks from the shipyard. One day Jessie looked out the window and saw Toad's battleship had shipped out. Jessie returned to Chelan and supported the war effort with her parents. Following Toad's honorable discharge in November 1945, Toad and Jessie and their baby daughter, Linda, began earning their living in Chelan on 15 acres of apples above Spader Bay. Second daughter, Terrie, was born two years later. Jessie enjoyed gardening, interior design, skiing, fishing, cooking, music, cross stitch and sewing. She had an eye for beauty and a penchant for creating classy and comfortable environments that made her home and patio a favorite gathering spot for family and friends. Her optimistic outlook and graceful presence turned attention to the best in people and situations, cultivating beauty wherever she looked. Jessie was a member of the Lake Chelan Methodist Church and the Lake Chelan Hospital Guild Z and remained lifelong friends with many members. Jessie loved animals, dogs in particular. An abiding love for her husband Toad supported a marriage of nearly 67 years. Survivors include daughters Linda Evans Parlette (Wenatchee) and Terrie O'Neal (Snohomish), grandsons Guy (Anni) Evans (Chelan) and Luke Evans (Wenatchee), great granddaughter Jessie Marie Evans (Wenatchee), and step-great granddaughters Seleah and Gianna Hisey. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Raymond "Toad" O'Neal in 2011, and her sister, Naomi Van Klinken in 1986. Jessie's family would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Tony Long, nurse Barbara, Hospice, and the loving [care] from her care givers in her home. Those who wish may make memorial donations in Jessie's name to: the Chelan Valley Hope (Tender Loving Care) (PO Box 635, Chelan, WA 98816); the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society (P.O. Box 55 Wenatchee, WA 98807); and the Alzheimer's Association (225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601) or the Lake Chelan Methodist Women (Box 1236, Chelan, WA 98816 ) Please feel free to leave any thoughts and memories for the family at www.prechtrose.com. Services are entrusted to Precht Rose Chapel of Chelan. Due to the uncertainty of COVID-19, Jessie's Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

Tributes

Jessie Marie O'Neal

June 25, 1926 - July 6, 2020