Dr. Isabel Ednah Odongo McFarland recently passed away unexpectedly in her home in Logan, Utah. She was 51 years old.
Isabel McFarland was born October 18, 1965 in Siaya, Kenya and grew up in the town of Eldoret, Kenya. Isabel received her bachelors of Science degree from the University of Nairobi (Kenya) and her doctoral degree in organic chemistry from Utah State University (USU). It was at USU that Isabel met and married the love of her life, Michael Jerome McFarland, a USU faculty member.
While raising their five children, Isabel found balance in her life through pursuing her passion for fiction writing. Under her pseudonym, Ednah (E.B.) Walters, Isabel wrote numerous best-selling fiction, young adult and romance novels. Her best known fiction series, Runes, received critical acclaim in USA Today and other national and international news outlets. Isabel went on to establish her own publishing company, Firetrail Publishing, which allowed her to self-publish additional best-selling novels including Immortals, Awakened, Beloved and Betrayed.
While her publishing and writing activities kept her busy, Isabel never lost sight of her primary goal of raising her children and making loving memories with her husband. Maintaining a safe and inspiring home for her family was her consummate focus. Isabel loved the diversity of cultures and made it her priority to travel worldwide with her family in order to give them experiences and memories that they would cherish forever. Through many challenges, Isabel remained strong for her family, providing comfort and encouragement to her husband and children.
Isabel is survived by her husband of 26 years, Michael, and their five children, Margaret, Merab, Elijah, Joyce and Jannah as well as several brothers and sisters including Arthur, Merab, Booker, Joyce and John-Mark. Isabel was particularly close to her nieces Brenda and Oyin, sisters-in-law Susan, Joan and Cathy as well as her nephews Andrew, Allister, Alan and Arnold. Isabel was preceded in death by her father, Walter Odongo, and mother Jane Margaret Ahenda as well as her brothers George and Dave.
Isabel will be dearly missed by her family as a cherished wife and loving mother. Words cannot capture what she meant to her husband and children. She was the emotional rock for her family. Her numerous literary fans, who are overwrought by her passing, will be comforted by the knowledge that her final book series will be published by her writing colleagues as a tribute to her legacy.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, September 22 at 10:00 am at Allen-Hall Mortuary Chapel, 34 East Center Street Logan. Interment will take place in the Providence City Cemetery. Condolences and memories may be expressed online at
www.allenmortuaries.net