Charles D. Mackey

Charles D. Mackey Charles David Mackey, age 86, died suddenly on November 15, 2013 at his home in Berwyn, PA. Born in Philadelphia on May 5, 1927, and raised in Montrose, PA, "Chuck" attended nearby Camp Susquehannock, and later enlisted in the U.S. Navy in April, 1945, just two months prior to his scheduled high school graduation. As a result, he was unable to attend Montrose High School graduation in June, 1945, despite being named Valedictorian of his graduating class. After serving in the Navy, he attended Cornell University (his father's alma mater), and graduated in the class of 1950 with a degree in English. After graduation, Chuck moved to Philadelphia and was first employed as a copy editor by the Associated Press, prior to working at N.W. Ayer & Son, Inc. the nation's oldest and largest advertising agency at their West Washington Square office in Philadelphia, where he met Barbara Senior, a Journalism major at Penn State University/ class of 1951, in May, 1952. They shared the same May 5 birthday and were married in May, 1954 prior to relocating to Detroit in 1957, when Chuck was named Creative Director for the Plymouth automotive account, a division of The Chrysler Corporation. While living in Birmingham, MI, Chuck and Barbara had four children- David, Diane and Richard (twin's) and Dana, before returning to Philadelphia in the summer 1964, when Chuck was named Vice- President of N. W. Ayer & Son, Inc. for the U.S Army's national account. Over the years, his creative writing included ad campaigns for Boeing Airlines, Tastycake Baking Company and the American Dental Association. In 1970, after more than 25 years at Ayer, Chuck and his colleague Phil Eitzen, established The Creative Department, with offices at 17th and Walnut Streets. He was later self-employed as Chuck Mackey Associates, with his clever screen name- Chuckful-of-Words. He was well known as a wordsmith, a master of both spoken and written words. He enjoyed brain-teasers of every kind, and knew many famous quotations. In the summer of 1981, Chuck began running at the Conestoga High School track, and went on to run and win several local 5-10k races in his age group. He trained in Valley Forge National Park for the Boston Marathon, which he ran from 1984-1987, at nearly 60 years old. In 1989, Chuck was remarried to Doris Brown, and they travelled around the world for 20 years through 2009- to 40 countries, and he made sure to run in every country they visited, as well as on every birthday. Over the last four years, he devoted much of his time to caring for Doris, while he continued to exercise and participate in the Silver Sneakers aerobic classes at the Upper Main Line YMCA until this year. Chuck was once a stamp collector, who loved astronomy and often visited the observatory at West Chester University. He tutored young students in math, and was big fan of the Phillies for over 75 years. Chuck collected autographs, including the infamous Robin Roberts in 1945. He enjoyed tennis, classical music, the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops, and his Shakespeare group. He was an active member and ever-witty editor for the Oak Knoll Association newsletter, and a frequent visitor of the Paoli Library, where he often walked-to, just for the exercise. Just last year he and a former colleague published The Gas Miser's Guide, which they originally wrote in 1974- and updated in 2012. He read the Philadelphia Inquirer and New York Times every day, and led an active, healthy lifestyle with plans for further travel at the youthful age of 86. He had an incredible mind, superb wit, and was a loving family man with a gentle soul. He had an insatiable curiosity about the world and other people, and had a particular interest in ancient Greek and Roman history. While Chuck was a man of many wonderful, creative and witty words, he was a man of his word. A proud member of the Cornell University Class of 1950, Chuck was the loving husband of Doris Brown Mackey, beloved father of David S. Mackey, Diane Sugalski (Mark), Richard R. Mackey (Stephanie) and Dana L. Mackey, and granddad of Danny, Matt, Kelly and Philip. He was the dear brother of Richard and Philip Mackey and was also survived by his former wife Barbara S. Mackey. Relatives and friends are invited to call Wednesday Nov. 20th after 10 A.M. at the George Washington Memorial Chapel, Rt 23 Valley Forge National Park. Funeral service to be celebrated at 11 A.M. Interment to follow at the Chapel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions to Surrey Services (www.surreyservices.org) would be appreciated.