Margaret Lynn Buchan

Margaret (Marlyn) Buchan was born December 12, 1941, in Walla Walla to Frank and Miriam (Edwards) LeRoux. She passed away on October 17, 2022, at Providence St. Mary Medical Center. She lived her entire life in Walla Walla, attending schools at St Patrick’s, DeSales, and Whitman College.

In her younger years, she had a great love of horses and was a member of the Walla Walla Wagonettes.

Margaret was married to Mike Donaldson, and they had five children together before their divorce.

Margaret married the love of her life - Jim Buchan - in 1974, and they raised seven children together. Soulmates, they never stopped their enduring devotion, not just to one another, but to all their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They traveled the United States wide to support their family because showing up mattered. Mom/Grandma/Great-Grandma was always there with Jim/Dad/Grandpa/Great-Grandpa at her side.

Margaret worked for her father, Frank, as his office manager for many years. Following her employment with her father, Frank, she worked for her cousin, John Edwards, at his accounting firm. After a period of several years working for John, she got an itch to branch out and do something on her own. In 1990 Margaret and Jim purchased a beautiful home in the Whitman College Campus area that would become Green Gables Inn. Margaret and Jim ran Green Gables for 17 years until she retired in 2007.

After retirement, Margaret volunteered as a Child Advocate with the CASA program. One of Margaret’s proudest achievements was her involvement in Walla Walla Noon Rotary and her perfect attendance for thirty-plus years. She was also a longtime board member of the Walla Walla Historical Society.

Margaret had a sharp wit and a fantastic sense of humor! Her laugh was infectious, and she had an enormous heart. She was also fierce and independent. If you told her she couldn’t do something, she’d do it twice and take pictures. The word “quit” was not in her vocabulary, and she had unbelievable willpower.

Margaret’s family and faith were the most important things in her life. She loved being a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was an avid gardener, expert yard-saler, concertgoer, yogi, world traveler, animal lover, chef, Rotarian, and devout Catholic.

Margaret leaves behind her husband Jim, sister Michele LeRoux, children Michele Daniels (Jim), Tim Donaldson (Katherine), Miriam Grant (Mark), Vade Donaldson (Sara), Dan Donaldson (Andrea), Anne Buchan (Robert Sickels), and Aaron Buchan, 21 grandkids, and six great-grandkids in addition to many cousins, nieces and nephews. She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends. She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank LeRoux and Miriam (Edwards) LeRoux. She also leaves behind two American Eskimos, Willow and River, who she loved to no end.

A public recitation of the Rosary in Margaret’s honor will be held at the Chapel of the Herring Funeral Home on Friday, October 28, 2022, at 6:00 PM, and her memorial funeral Mass will be celebrated at Assumption Catholic Church on Saturday, October 29, 2022, at 10:00 AM. Mass is also open to the public. You need not be Catholic to attend her Rosary service or funeral Mass.