Mary Kay Sinclair, 87
Daily Inter-Lake | UPDATED 5 hours, 23 minutes AGO
Our beloved Mary Kay Sinclair, 87, of West Glacier passed away Oct. 22, 2026, in California, holding the hands of her children. Diagnosed with cancer in July, she told her family she had lived a beautiful life and was ready to go. Her final wish was to attend her son's wedding and she made it! She was still singing the day before she died, harmonizing to "I'll Fly Away" with family and friends gathered around her.
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1938, Mary Kay moved frequently as a child before finding lifelong friends at Olivet Nazarene College in Illinois. She taught in a rural, one-room schoolhouse before moving to Chicago, where she worked as a bookkeeper at the Sears Tower, modeled at trade shows, and even appeared in a hotel commercial.
After marrying Don, she moved with him and their two children to Encinitas, California. She was a budget analyst at SAIC and MEC before becoming finance director at the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA. Her new community of friends helped her discover her inner nature lover. A marathon runner, backpacker, and adventurer, she more than once enthusiastically jumped into water before remembering she never learned to swim!
A longtime member of the United Methodist Church in Encinitas, Mary Kay sang in the choir, played in the bell choir, and volunteered in her community. A die-hard card player, she loved hosting card nights and holiday gatherings, making room for the newcomers.
Always striving for the mountaintop, she summited Mt. Whitney twice and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in her 60s. She finally found the hiking trails of her dreams, moving to West Glacier, where she broadened her circle of friends. She loved picking huckleberries, singing in the Columbia Falls United Methodist Church choir, playing chimes, attending the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, volunteering, eating pie, and turning chance encounters into lasting friendships.
We will remember Mary Kay singing, running, hiking, and adventuring around the world — generously giving her time and resources, loudly cheering for her sports teams, telling stories, and above all, laughing. She cared deeply about the earth, loved people, and never lost sight of how fortunate she was to live the life she loved.
Her legacy is the example she set: live with gratitude, embrace adventure, welcome everyone, give generously, and find joy in the simple things. She lived fully and loved deeply.
Mary Kay is survived by her children, Shannon Sinclair (Summer) and Scot Sinclair (Rachelle).
She was preceded in death by her parents, Myrtle and Glenn Shannon; her sister, Dorothy; and her brothers, Charles and Jim.
A celebration of Mary Kay's life will be held at 11 a.m. on Nov. 13 at Columbia Falls United Methodist Church in Columbia Falls with a reception to follow. The service will be livestreamed and recorded at the church's YouTube channel: Columbia Falls United Methodist Church at YouTube.com.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Mary Kay's memory to: Columbia Falls United Methodist Church: secure.myvanco.com or Habitat for Humanity: habitatflathead.org.