Bill Mackay

He is survived by his wife Karen, brothers Tom (Darlene) Mackay, Al (Marilyn) Mackay, Richard Mackay, Bernie Mackay, sister Mary (Ray) Germaniuk, sisters-in-law Daphne (Kelly) Hayes, Dorothy Spackman, brothers-in-law Randy (Susi) Spackman, Tom (Sue) Spackman, Brian (Nadyne) Spackman, Kent (Donna) Spackman as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Dick and Nettie Mackay, and Karen’s parents, Fred and Rowena Spackman, as well as three sisters, Joey Martin, Margaret Mackay, Grace Birmingham and three brothers-in-law, Rick Spackman, Cliff Martin, and Dave Birmingham.

Bill was born in 1953 to Richard Mackay and Janet Fox in Edmonton, Alberta. He was the youngest of nine children born into a Scottish family that lived in Cloverdale, a much-storied location where his sense of adventure began with a wide network of loved friends and relatives. His life was defined by his love for people and learning, his athletic prowess as a skier, his musical skills as a drummer, his artistic career, and his love of gardening.

He spent his entire life developing his musical, artistic, and athletic skills as well as his mind. He served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to Eastern Canada and the US. He studied Education for 4 years at the University of Alberta. He was a highly-skilled skier and ski-jumper, an editorial cartoonist with cartoons published around the world, as well as an artist with skills developed in every area. He was a musician with an intense love of drumming, and played and performed with many groups. He also played the saxophone and bass and liked to jam with his wife at home. He studied the breadth of what the world had to offer for knowledge, including Astronomy with his own telescope.

He had a sharp wit and liked to help correct others’ mistaken beliefs about the world, often interpreted as being opinionated, but it was out of a feisty competitive spirit developed as he grew up the youngest of a large Scottish family.

His later life included the cultivation of gardening skills and Community Gardens. He shared his love of gardening by donating the food he grew to friends, neighbors, and a local bread run for many years.

He had a kind heart, and a keen sense of how to help others and include the less fortunate or those with disabilities. He often did quiet good deeds to share his many blessings with others.

Please remember him with a song in your heart, and a desire to share your own gifts with the world.

The Celebration of Life service for Bill will be held at 11:00 AM on December 6, 2019 at Hainstock’s Funeral Home, 9810 – 34 Ave, Edmonton, AB. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Salvation Army.