She was born in Los Angeles on November 1 1928 to Marjorie and George Barbour, their only child.
She graduated from John Marshall High School and attended Stanford University for 2 years.
She then returned to the Los Angeles area to attend Woodbury Business College and went on to work for American Broadcast Company (ABC) and Stanley Kramer studios.
She returned to San Francisco to work for Sunset Magazine and then married Robert MacDonald in 1958. They moved to Oakland and welcomed the birth of their son, Angus. Then relocated to San Leandro and daughter Suzanne was born; 2 years later the family re-located to Concord.
She was a devoted stay at home mother/wife for many years. She was also a dedicated volunteer through her adult life. Starting out as a hospital volunteer at Stanford Hospital in the 1950s to PTA President at Loma Vista Intermediate School to a parent representative on the Task Force for Sexism in textbooks for the Mt Diablo school district and finally as a member of the Marin County Grand Jury. She was an active member of Hillcrest Congregational Church in Pleasant Hill for many years.
She cared for her own mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, for 10 years. In the 1970s when there were very few acceptable places for the elderly to live who had dementia type illness. Jan volunteered as an Ombudsman in nursing homes to be an advocate for those who couldn’t speak for themselves. In the 1970-80s she managed the Math –Science Network, based at Mills College in Oakland which was a non-profit organization that encouraged teenage girls to enter non tradition science or math based careers.
When the marriage ended, Jan took the opportunity to finish her college education at Stanford that she had stopped decades earlier. She graduated from Stanford in 1989 with a BA in Communications. She went on to work for the Buck Center for Research in Aging in Novato until her retirement in 1995.
Her grandchildren came along in the 1990s and were the love of her life. She was able to help with babysitting in between her many trips that she so enjoyed in retirement. She was so fond of Cabo San Lucas, England, Fallen Leaf Lake and the Carson Valley in Nevada.
She moved to Novato in 1990 and dearly loved Marin County. She lived at many different assisted living for seniors facilities since 2001.
She was preceded in death by her parents Marjorie (Churchill) and George Barbour, cousin Marjorie Cooper and former husband Robert P. MacDonald
She is survived by her children Angus P. MacDonald and Suzanne MacDonald, beloved grandchildren Ryan E. O'Halleran and Morgan A. O'Halleran, daughter-in-law Karen Callahan, son-in-law Stephen Forkins, and former son-in law Thomas O’Halleran.
The family would like to thank the following for their wonderful care and support during her long illness: Dr Charles Metzger, Kaiser Petaluma; Our House Assisted Living in Petaluma; the Palliative and Complex Chronic Disease Departments at Kaiser San Rafael and the Redwood Caregivers Resource Center.
The memorial is scheduled for Saturday, September 21, 2013, 2:00 PM, at Keaton's Redwood Chapel of Marin, in Novato.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Redwood Caregivers Resource Center, Santa Rosa.
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