Mcneill Remembered For Her Magic Touch Nearly 450 Attend Memorial To Spokane’s First Woman Mayor

In the homemade video, Vicki McNeill wears a light blue gown and dons a sparkling crown.

She moves from one grandchild to the next, sprinkling “pixie-dust” on each with a silver wand.

McNeill smiles broadly as she surveys the shimmery table. She bursts into laughter, saying, “Boy, I’ve made a mess.”

Friends and family who watched the short video clip at McNeill’s memorial service Thursday said the scene wasn’t uncommon. While Spokane’s first woman mayor didn’t usually carry a magic wand, she used a special touch to make those she met feel special, they said.

“She did something for me. She admired me - and sprinkled a little fairy dust on me,” said author Michael Gurian. “Many of us can feel her putting a little fairy dust on us now.”

McNeill died last week of lung cancer. She was 71.

Nearly 450 people gathered for the “celebration” of McNeill’s life at the Ag Trade Center, as civic leaders, authors and family members remembered the woman who helped shape Spokane’s landscape.

“This building is the reality of but one of her many accomplishments and dreams,” said friend Mari Clack of the convention center, which was built during McNeill’s mayoral term.

Mayor Jack Geraghty remembered how McNeill possessed almost legendary fund raising abilities, collecting money for everything from the Spokane Symphony to the Opera House long before launching her political career.

“Pity the poor business leader, state legislator or congress member when Vicki came calling with that soft, lyrical voice,” said Geraghty. “You never said ‘No’ to Vicki McNeill.”

McNeill was appointed to the council in 1982 to complete the term of her good friend Jim Chase, who’d been elected mayor. She won the seat a year later and ran successfully for mayor in 1985.

She survived a rocky four-year term, during which she endured death threats and a failed recall attempt over her support of the wasteto-energy plant.

“She was essentially unflappable,” said former City Councilman Luke Williams. “She could look in the eye of a vociferous antagonist and smile.”

Critics who dubbed her “Queen Vicki” didn’t know how priceless McNeill was, said Vickie Gehrke Bachofner, a childhood friend of McNeill’s daughter. “Any country on the face of the earth would have been blessed to call her their queen.”

While many remembered McNeill’s role as a community leader, Bachofner remembered her as a “second mom” who taught her invaluable lessons - such as good fashion sense.

“She knew what to wear to collect a check for $10,000,” said Bachofner with a grin. “She knew how much cleavage you could expose in a ball gown if you were married or single.”

As the two-hour service came to a close, a collection of photos flashed on a screen. Songs such as Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable’ played in the background.

The pictures showed McNeill through the years, from her childhood to her wedding to the birth of her grandchildren. Over the years, her fashions changed. Her hair turned from black to white. Lines gathered around her eyes.

But in every photo, she wears the same broad smile.

“The size of her spirit was the size of her laugh,” said author Terry Pearce. “And you know how big that was.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo