MCKENZIE, Ronald Eugene (Mac)

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Thursday, January 25, 2007 Ronald Eugene "Mac" McKenzie, 79, died at home in Dewey on January 22, 2007. He was born September 20, 1927, in Los Angeles, Calif, to Archibald and Delia Crystal McKenzie. Orphaned early, Ron was raised by a beloved maternal great aunt and her husband, Warren and Avis Drayer. Mac left home at a young age and spent a year in the Coast Guard and then had a twenty-year career in the U.S. Army achieving the rank of First Sergeant of a helicopter unit at one point. His war was Korea and he served in Japan and Austria in addition to stateside. Still a relatively young man upon discharge from the Army, he pursued another career with the Teamsters driving a concrete mixer for Virginia Concrete Co. for 17 years in Springfield, Va. Mac was a hardworking, man of slight stature but with a BIG voice. He will be missed by his four cats and all who knew him. Mac is survived by his wife of 10 years, Carol. He has children and multiple step-children listed below. He was a recovered alcoholic of 30 years, but never gave up cigarettes or women. Mac outlived good wives, Vivian McKenzie, mother of Dr. Michelle Morris and Patrick McKenzie; and Jeanne McKenzie, mother of Steve and Greg White. His former wife, Sylvia Wild, from Austria, is mother to Juanita Bryant and Sylvia Vandenakker; his step-children with Carol are Cowan and Mike Whitnable and Maribeth Martori. Numerous grandchildren are having Mac's great grandchildren now. Mac was an avid reader of mysteries; fan to TV football and "Law and Order;" and supported many animal charities. Special thanks to Dr. Kevin Doyle and the staff of Granite Mountain Hospice. Please make any memorials to the Salvation Army or the Humane Society. Services with military honors will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Arrangements entrusted to Sunrise Funeral Home. Information provided by survivors.