Obituary of Charles Roy Mackey

Born: January 22, 1929 in Colgate, Saskatchewan

Charles Roy Mackey (Charlie) passed away peacefully on September 8, 2012 at the age of 83. His loving family was by his side. Charlie was predeceased by his mother, father, step-mother; sisters Evelyn, Edith, and Geraldine; and brothers Art, Vern, and Harold.

 

Charlie will always be remembered by Shirley (his loving wife of 62 years), his children Ivan (Dawn), Roy (Marta), Marlene (Mark), and Missy (Steven), along with his grandchildren Alaina, Crystal, Jessica, Mitchell, Katherine, Jessica and of course the great grandchildren Sophia and Elisabeth.

Charlie left his hometown in Saskatchewan and came to British Columbia in the fall of 1948. He was headed to Vancouver, but made a short stop in Radium. There he met Shirley Franson, a beautiful young woman who captured his heart. He carried on to Vancouver and then later returned to the valley. Shortly afterwards he proposed to Shirley and the two were married.

For a while he worked with Standard Gravel in Kootenay National Park doing road construction work. When that job finished, he moved to Kimberley and did some strip mining work, then on to Trail where he worked on a dam. Charlie and Shirley returned to Saskatchewan for 3 summers to help on the family farm, but the Valley was where they wanted to settle down and make their home. Back in the Valley, he logged with Ingvar Byman for awhile, and then worked for the Department of Highways for nine years as truck driver and mechanic.

He then decided to start his own dump truck and backhoe business called CR Mackey Construction. His motto was "Have Gravel Will Travel". Over the years, he wore out 4 new backhoes, and became a master "hoe-man". Later on Charlie and Shirley built Green Acres Mobile Home Park and have been providing affordable living for hundreds of families for over forty- one years.

Charlie always radiated warmth, happiness, and a zest for life that was remarkable! Every day he was "better than ever!", and every day he had a big friendly smile to share. He was a prime example of the fact that when you smile with your heart it shines through your eyes. He always lived his life just how he wanted to live it - "free" and thus set a great example for his children to do the same. He lived life passionately, enthusiastically, excitedly, optimistically and dangerously. "Dangerously" was made apparent the day he flew a locally made, foot launched hanglider off the top of Mount Swansea at the age of 60. An even bigger feat for him as he was terrified of heights! Though he did respect fear, he did not let it run his life and was often willing to blunder forth into the uncharted. He acted like "failure" was nothing more than the wrong way to spell the word "learning". He also lived generously. Giving you the shirt off his back was only the beginning for him. His thankfulness though kept him humble and from ever dwelling on his acts of generosity.

He was a likeable guy to most, a hero to his family and an asset to the growth and evolution of the Windermere Valley. "Have Gravel…" though… has now gone traveling.

A service for Charlie will be held at the Valley Christian Assembly, 4818 Hwy 93/95, in Windermere on Saturday, September 15th, 2012 at 1:00 pm. A tea will follow downstairs after the service.

 

Arrangements entrusted to McPherson Funeral Service.

Condolences for the family can be offered at:

www.mcphersonfh.com