Obituary of Jeraldine Frances McGrath

Jerri F. McGrath (formerly Jerri Frances Heiskell), 69, of Morgantown, WV and Pawley's Island, SC, passed away peacefully on December 29, 2014, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Gretchen and Jason Darrell, in Medina, Ohio, after a long battle with cancer. Born on March 10, 1945, at St. Mary’s Hospital, in Huntington, WV, where her father, Frank Deegan, was an electrical engineer with the U.S. government. She was the daughter of Ruth B. Young, of Louisville, Kentucky, who survives. After her father's civil service, which included five years in Korea and Japan, and a tour in Orleans, France, Jerri moved with her family to Morgantown in 1959, and graduated from Morgantown High School in 1963. She went on to graduate from West Virginia University, in 1967, with a degree in physical education. In 1966, Jerri married Morgantown native Edgar F. Heiskell, III, and they had five children, all of whom survive: Christopher, of Raleigh, NC; Edgar IV ("Skip") of Morgantown, married to Kathryn (Vineyard) Heiskell; Ryan, of Columbia, SC, married to Shaye (Barnum) Heiskell; Justin, of Morgantown, married to Jennifer (Lynch) Heiskell; and Gretchen, of Medina, Ohio, married to Jason Darrell. Jerri and Mr. Heiskell divorced in 1996 and she later married Ron McGrath, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After her youngest child was enrolled in school, Jerri entered the WVU School of Law, from which she received her Juris Doctor degree in 1992. She thereafter engaged in the general practice of law in Charleston and Morgantown and was admitted to the bars of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia. Before entering law school, she had earned her Real Estate Broker's License, was an associate at Dorsey & Kiger Realtors, and owned her own realty company, Heiskell Realty, among many other businesses. She also managed multiple businesses and practiced law in Wisconsin, prior to moving to South Carolina, where her heart was content, lying on the beach next to the beautiful ocean. Jerri was predeceased by her father and a sister, Judith Archard. She is survived by her mother and children, her sister Patty Brashear, of Louisville, KY, numerous nieces and nephews, fourteen grandchildren and her beloved Polish Lowland Sheepdog, "Bear." Family and friends will be received at Hastings Funeral Home, 153 Spruce St., Morgantown on Saturday, January 3, 2014, from 10:00 a.m., until the time of the service at 11:00 a.m with Pastor Shirley Robinson officiating. Interment will follow at the East Oak Grove Cemetery. Send condolences online at www.hastingsfuneralhome.com.