OBITUARY

Marion Anderson Pratt

It is with great sadness to share the passing of Marion Anderson Pratt, August 17 after a sudden cardiac event at age 72.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1949, to Charles A. Pratt and Joan B. Pratt, who precedes her in passing by only 40 days. Marion spent her early years in Chicago, first Evanston and then Barrington Hills, learning to ride horses, going to Country Day School and Barrington High School, making lifelong friends. Her beloved father adored her wild, curly hair, dubbing her the spitting image of Shirley Temple.

The daughter-of-a-daughter of a wheat rancher, Charles J. Broughton, Marion spent many vacations in Dayton, Wash., getting to know her cousins, and beginning a lifelong respect for the land.

For her last two years of high school, Marion attended the Dana Hall School in Massachusetts, before heading to Hollins College. It was at Hollins where she met first husband, Russell Sherman, a football player at Harvard University. Tragically, they lost two children shortly after birth. When their marriage dissolved soon after, Marion moved back to California, with a degree from Boston College. She headed to the University of Southern California, where she received her Master's Degree in Psychology.

On a trip to Colorado, she met second husband, Eric Schmidt, a Denver newscaster. While married to Eric, Marion attended law school, earning her degree in less than three years, passing the Colorado bar, and beginning a career in law that would last until her recent retirement. Her divorce from Eric was painful, but she managed to fill her days with multiple careers. There was law, and she also revived her career in psychology, working in private practice and for the city of Bend, dealing with teens, and alcohol and drug abuse. She formed many friendships in Bend, worked hard for animal charity causes: protecting wolves, helping build fences for dogs, and with the local SPCA.

Marion was truly an adventurous soul, climbing mountains, skiing, travelling to Europe, Ireland, and exploring the west in her RV. In her travels, she enjoyed meeting new people and forming friendships. But it was always family that brought her home. Her bubbly optimism and infectious smile will be greatly missed.

Marion is survived by her brothers, Andrew M. Pratt and Charles A. Pratt, Jr., sister-in-law Barbara E. Pratt, nieces Lindsay Pratt Jordan, Chelsea E. Pratt, Chandler E. Pratt, and nephew Mackenzie Pratt, as well as great-nieces Riley, Quinn and Liv.

Above all, Marion was a devout dog lover, raising a variety of rescues and Golden Retrievers. Her sudden passing left "Gabi" and "Gus," her two beautiful Goldens, behind. Happily, both dogs were adopted by Susan Price, a Dayton, Wash. resident, and are already adjusted to their new home.

Marion will be interred in Dayton Cemetery on September 25, at the same time as her mother, Joan, in a family service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to two of Marion's favorite causes: Three Rivers Humane Society --https://threerivershs.org and International Wolf Center https://wolf.org