Feminist was
girls' best friend
By Tracy Dell'Angela
Posted: Nov 30, 2023
Cynthia McLachlan
1940-2005
Feminist was girls' best friend
By Tracy Dell'Angela
Tribune staff reporter
November 30, 2023
Cynthia McLachlan spent her life growing into the role that would
define her--feminist advocate. But it was one she embraced with
passion.
Her parents expected little from her, so she had kept her dreams
small, friends say. She attended college, but only because she wanted
her wedding announcement printed in The New York Times, an honor
then reserved for graduates.
A longtime Chicago resident and philanthropist, Ms. McLachlan,
65, died of lung cancer Thursday, Nov. 24, in the University of
Washington Medical Center in Seattle.
One of Ms. McLachlan's most rewarding achievements was the foundation
she created with her three children after unexpectedly inheriting
a fortune when her husband died. Created in 1994 with a $15 million
endowment, the Girl's Best Friend Foundation has spent nearly $5
million supporting grass-roots programs that target the health and
developmental needs of girls and young women.
Despite a four-year battle with cancer and moving to a remote island
town in Washington, Ms. McLachlan cherished her connection to the
people and programs of the foundation.
"She lived each day with such joy and pleasure," said
Alice Cottingham, executive director of Girl's Best Friend and a
close friend of the founder.
This mindset was hardly a natural one for Ms. McLachlan, who was
told by her parents that she wasn't smart enough to aspire to anything
more than a husband and home, according to her husband, Gary Tabasinske.
Her marriage to the late Donald McLachlan--a founding partner of
the law firm of McLachlan, Rissman and Doll--was a traditional one.
She did not know much about her husband's business, and so she
had no idea he left her a wealthy woman. The news of the inheritance
shocked her.
She was a lay chaplain for several years at Rush-Presbyterian-St.
Luke's Medical Center in Chicago after receiving her bachelor's
degree in pastoral care and counseling from DePaul University.
After launching Girl's Best Friend, she decided to build a home
on Lopez Island in Puget Sound, a remote spot where she had vacationed
for years.
She hired the architect who planned the retreat of her dreams--and
soon realized he was the man of her dreams as well.
"The thing that was so alluring to me was that she was so
filled with life and light," said Tabasinske. "She was
bemused that people thought what she did was such a big deal."
In addition to her husband, survivors include her sons, Jason and
Devin McLachlan; her daughter, Katherine McLachlan; and her sister,
Nancy Knowles Parker.
A memorial celebration is scheduled for Jan. 14 on Lopez Island.
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tdell'angela@tribune.com
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