Darlene Elizabeth McLellan

Darlene McLellan, an endlessly curious woman, passed away on October 8, 2026, at the age of 79. Born in Spokane, Washington, she was an Edmonds resident for 75 years and left a lasting mark on the arts community she loved.

Darlene graduated from Edmonds High School and Washington State University (Go Cougs!). She began her career at the Boeing Company as a Design Draftsman and Illustrator, working by hand in the years before AutoCAD existed, and was part of the design team for the 747. When she later decided to return to school for an immersive fine arts exchange program between WSU and Nihon Daigaku in Tokyo, her Boeing team supported her with letters of recommendation. While studying in Japan, she met her husband, Harry. After her program ended, they returned to the States to marry.

Darlene gave generously of her time to the arts in Edmonds. She served on the Board of Directors of the Edmonds Arts Festival, including a term as President, and was a board member of the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation. She also served as Museum Director of the Edmonds Arts Festival Museum/Gallery and was selected as a commissioner on the Edmonds Arts Commission. Her connection to Japan continued through the Edmonds Sister City Commission, where she helped arrange an exchange of artwork with Hekinan, Japan, and joined several delegations there. For the Festival’s 50th anniversary, she wrote Celebrating 50 Years of the Arts in Edmonds. She retired from volunteering in 2016.

Darlene was an avid and fearless traveler. She toured Europe with her sister in the late 1960s, and in her early twenties she went back to do it again, this time entirely on her own. She flew into Milan, Italy, bought a Fiat 850 Spider in Positano Yellow, and set off. She drove it over the Swiss Alps and around Europe to the English Channel, crossed by hovercraft to Dover, and explored England and Wales behind the wheel before having the car shipped home to the United States by way of Antwerp. Over the years her journeys also took her to South Korea, Thailand, Australia, Tasmania, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, and across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. She kept discovering new places until 2024, when Alzheimer’s disease made travel too difficult.

Darlene was preceded in death by her parents, Duane and Edith Wilson; her infant brother, Duane Wilson; her sister, Diane Scott; and her husband, Harry McLellan. She is survived by her three children, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Services: A chapel service will be held on Friday, November 6, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a graveside service at Purdy & Walters at Floral Hills.

In lieu of flowers, donations are welcome to the Edmonds Arts Festival ( https://www.edmondsartsfestival.com/donate) or the Alzheimer’s Association ( https://www.alz.org/).