Margarette Kathleen Fedora

Margarette Kathleen Fedora

March 15, 1940 – April 12, 2023

Margarette Kathleen Fedora was born in Longview Washington on March 15, 1940.  She spent her earliest years on her paternal grandparent’s farm in Gorham, North Dakota among her Ukrainian family and community, of which she had fond memories. 

She grew up in Longview and in High School, spent four years at St. Mary’s Academy, a Catholic girls boarding school adjacent to St. Francis Xavier Mission Church in Toledo, Washington. Upon completing High School, she entered a convent in Southern California.  After nine months she decided to leave and go into a more Contemplative Order.  In a turn of events however, she changed course and married Michael J. Menkal at St. Francis Xavier Mission Church. They immediately started a family and had five children: Mary, Ann Marie, Michael, John and Christian.  She loved being a mother and put her heart and soul into caring for her children.

They left Longview in 1974 and moved to San Luis Obispo, California.  Michael loved the ocean.  In 1977 they moved to Incline Village, Nevada in Lake Tahoe.  Margarette loved the mountains. Finally in 1983, they moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea in California, their favorite place of all.  Over the years, Margarette took jobs in retail at a clothing store and a gift shop, at which she made some lasting friends. She was a natural salesperson, due to her kind, friendly nature. 

When her mother Flora had a stroke in 1994, she moved back to Washington State to take care of her parents, which she faithfully did until they both passed away. Her sacrifice was greatly appreciated, as it spared Nicholas and Flora Fedora from having to go into a nursing home in their final years.  In the final thirteen years of her life, Margarette was fortunate that her son Michael was able to be her caregiver, which afforded her the opportunity to die in the place she called home, the home her parents built at Lake Mayfield Resort in Washington State.

In her later years, she had the opportunity to travel, so she went on several Pilgrimages. She went to Fatima, Portugal; Lourdes, France; Poland; Medjugorje, Yugoslavia; Guadalupe, Mexico and the Holy Land.  She was inspired by her faith to visit all these holy sites, at which apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary occurred or where shrines were built in her honor.  She also got the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Jesus in Israel two times, a highlight of her life.  In addition, she traveled to Kansas as often as she could to visit her five grandchildren, and to California to visit her three sons and granddaughter Liliana Menkal, and her daughter Mary and husband Jean Hubert. 

Margarette’s favorite things to do besides spending time with family and friends, and traveling, were to be outside immersing herself in the beauty of nature and going to Catholic Churches.  She found God in both places. Carmel-by-the-Sea was her heaven on earth, not only because of its beauty but because she loved to go to San Carlos Cathedral in Monterey, the Carmel Mission Church and the Carmelite Monastery.  The Monastery was her favorite place on earth, and she made the Sacrifice of the Mass a priority in her life, going as often as she could. She loved taking walks along the beach and lived for many years with the ocean right across the street from her house.  She also loved Cannon Beach in Oregon. She found the ‘hills to be alive with the sound of music’, when she hiked in the Sierra Nevada Mountains at Lake Tahoe, and Mt. Rainier in Washington State.  Her favorite pastime was climbing the paths of Mt. Rainier to the bridge and waterfall. 

Margarette had a childlike, friendly, sweet, gentle nature.  Her desire to know, love and serve God remained strong all her life and even though she did not enter a convent, her interior life was very much that of a consecrated woman.  She intentionally practiced what she believed and lived her faith in her daily life through worship, prayer, meditation and by putting into practice her Christian beliefs.  She never tired of learning more about her faith and was always collecting and reading spiritual books and striving to live a virtuous life.   

Margarette was preceded in death by her parents, Nicholas and Flora Fedora and her many aunts, uncles and cousins.

She is survived by her five children: Mary Medora Hubert, Ann Marie Alvey (David), Michael Menkal, John Menkal and Christian Menkal (Cynthia) and six grandchildren: Juliana Alvey, Christiana Shambro (Brian), Joseph Alvey, Mariana Fisher (Reese), Analisa Alvey and Liliana Menkal. She also leaves behind her sister Jeanette Masters, niece Vanessa Masters and nephew David Masters, as well as many cousins. She was one of a kind and will be greatly missed.

Margarette’s Rosary, Funeral Mass and Burial will take place at St. Francis Xavier Mission Church, 139 Spencer Rd. Toledo, WA 98591, on June 7th at 10:30am. It will begin with the Rosary followed by Mass at 11:00am, and Burial and Reception immediately following.

Please send all memorial donations to St. Francis Xavier Mission Church.

A special thank you to Fr. Timothy Furlow of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Portland, Oregon for administering the last sacraments to Margarette and giving her his keepsake, antique rosary, which had a medal of St. Therese of Lisieux on it, and to whom she considered a sister in Christ.  

We are so grateful for Dr. Jennifer LeTourneau and all the staff at Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland, Oregon who were wonderfully compassionate, very professional and patient in taking the time to explain Margarette’s medical condition to us, and who took great care of Margarette in her final days. 

We sincerely appreciate Newell-Hoerling's Mortuary for their professionalism, combined with warmth and compassion, as they walked us through the final steps of Margarette’s journey from this life to the next.  They did an outstanding job and we will be forever grateful. 

Finally, thank you to Fr. Milhton Scarpetta, Deacon Loren Lane, and musicians Carolyn Lane and Verity Arndt for all they are doing to plan and celebrate Margarette’s Mass of Christian Burial.   

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