Obituary of Kenneth Edwin Mackie

Kenneth Mackie, late of Regina, passed away on Saturday, September 4th, 2021 at the age of 90. He was predeceased by his wife Mary Mackie; his parents Lawrence Mackie and Merle Burns; his sister Joyce Edison (and brother-in-law Ed Edison); his brother Doug Mackie (and sister-in-law Lois Mackie); and his nephew Lawrence Edison. He was also predeceased by his sister-in-law Margaret (Gilroy) Robertson; his sister-in-law Kay (Gilroy) Head (and brother-in-law Bill Head); his brother-in-law Gordon Gilroy; and brother-in-law Robin Gilroy. Kenneth is survived by his daughter Debra; son Scott; his grandchildren Ashley, John, Douglas and Julie; as well as by many nephews and nieces. Ken was born in Watrous in 1931 and grew up there. He was, in a way, a working man while still a young teenager, helping his father in the arduous dray business in Watrous. After finishing high school Ken started working for the CN as a telegrapher. Ken met and married the beautiful Mary Gilroy and they had two children Debra and Scott. In 1963 the family moved to Saskatoon where Ken went to university to study economics. In 1968, when he completed his masters, the family moved to Regina. Ken worked for the provincial government for the next 28 years. Once retired Ken and Mary began to winter on the coast and summer at Manitou Beach. And by that point there were grandchildren to enjoy! Ken lived life with a joyous sense of humour and a lightness of spirit. He believed in the importance of hard work and perseverance. Ken believed that life’s troubles shouldn’t weigh you down for too long. He knew that the secret to a good life was love of family and friends. Ken developed deep and abiding interests that stayed with him his whole life: building the cottage, creating stone walls, growing ferns and lady slippers, picking Saskatoons, identifying birds, finding petrified wood, dancing at Danceland, welcoming friends and family to the cottage or to their home in Regina, planning and hosting Grade 1 reunions, thoroughly enjoying the Regina Wine Group, dining on his favourite meal which was liver and onions, learning the history of Scotland and of Saskatchewan and of course he enjoyed his living memory of the history of Watrous and Manitou. Ken especially enjoyed conducting the heritage school bus tours of Watrous on Homecoming Days. As he had worked in the dray business as a teenager he knew who lived in every home in Watrous. Ken’s school bus tours were a wonderful remembrance for the former Watrous residents who had returned for homecoming. They became passengers on a lovely and often emotional trip back in time. Ken and Mary travelled to Hawaii, to Hong Kong and Thailand and to Italy. He and his daughter Debra travelled to Scotland and had a memorable time. Ken attempted to change the pronunciation of Mackie to MacKay while in Edinburg (he was unsuccessful)!! His very favourite trip was to his beloved cottage at Manitou in the late spring every year. He loved joking and talking and telling stories and entertaining and most of all he loved people. He will be forever in our hearts.

A memorial service will be held for Ken at a later date we hope everyone can attend.