1958 - Aug 2019

Laguna Beach continues to grieve the loss of local woman Megan Hampton, 61, found deceased in her Laguna Terrace Park home on August 18. Her son, Matthew McDonald, 34, has been charged with murdering her with a knife. Although a fairly new resident to Laguna, Hampton was loved and respected by all she knew.

Hampton married Claremont resident Tom McDonald, her high school classmate at Claremont High School, in 1978. Matthew was born in 1984. They subsequently divorced in 1987. Hampton is described by friends in Claremont as a devoted mother and loving friend, and always available for her son. He was reported to have suffered from a mental disorder.

In 2015, Hampton and her son moved to Laguna Beach from Upland after her second husband Wade Hampton died from cancer. McDonald was a 2003 graduate of Claremont High School, according to the Claremont Courier. As a student at CHS, he was the quarterback for the football team and an All-Baseline League First Team selection, honored as the Offensive Back of the Year, according to a Courier article. McDonald has catatonic schizophrenia, and his mother was his guardian, according to court documents, the Los Angeles Times reported. Jay Grant, Pastor of Prayer and Shepherding Ministries at Little Church by the Sea in Laguna, where Hampton had been a member for two to three years, said, “Megan Hampton was incredibly gracious, caring, and loving. Just a tremendous lady. She carried heavy burdens in life but never gave up, never complained, always persevering in the hope that those she loved would improve. I will miss her greatly.”

Her dear friend Rhonda Glasscock said, “Megan cared deeply about everyone she met. I can think of no better compliment or legacy. If you had a need or concern, she sensed it like sonar and acted on it. She had that rare ability to make you feel like you were the most special person in the world, because in that moment in time, you were.
“Maybe a cliché, but she relished life. She loved nature and animals, and was seen regularly with her lovable French Mastiff, Brutey. “Seriously obsessed with Laguna, she wanted to go to every restaurant, every Happy Hour, every local production, and any historical event that shaped Laguna. She treasured sunsets from her deck, pelicans overhead (her personal sign for favor), and holding the record (at least with me) on marine life sightings.” Glasscock continued, “She was made for Laguna. I only know of two other wishes: to travel abroad and write a book about mental illness. “So now I ache that my friend is not a laugh or a hug away. And I take comfort knowing that eternity is lavishing bundles of laughs and hugs on her, from the loved ones she has ached for herself.”

Family members are working on a memorial service. No date has been set.

- Stu News Laguna; Laguna Beach’s Online Newspaper and Community Forum