Jean Mackey

Jean McGinness Mackey age 91, died in Bloomington, Indiana, on Thursday, March 11, 2010. She was born in Evansville, Indiana, on the 17th of December 1918 during the great flu epidemic to Mabel Taylor McGinness and John Clement Raymond McGinness. Dearly loved by her children, grandchildren, and many devoted friends, she combined a sharp intellect and a finely honed wit with generosity and a life-long dedication to the arts and public service. As a young woman, she played the cello, developing a passion for classical music. After graduating from Evansville College with a B.S. in chemistry, she worked first at Mead Johnson in Evansville and then at Eli Lilly and Company in Indianapolis as a chemist analyzing silver foil strips designed to interfere with enemy radar equipment. Persistent, dedicated, and brilliantly competent, she was the first woman hired by Eli Lilly since World War I and was publicly commended for her work. In April 1942, she married John Edward Mackey, a physician who practiced Obstetrics and Gynecology in Indianapolis until their move to the Bell Trace Retirement Community in Bloomington in 2005. During her time in Indianapolis, Jean helped found a guild to aid The Crossroads, a rehabilitation facility for disabled children. One of the earliest members of the Alliance of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, she also helped organize the Museum's Art Rental Gallery, serving as chair or advisor for over 30 years and developing the first program to rent fine art with an option to buy. While mothering and mentoring three children, she served as President of the Grandview School PTA and Secretary Treasurer of the Washington Township Marion County High School Building Corporation. Jean was a member of the Indiana Medical Society Auxiliary and on the Boards of the Indianapolis Speech and Hearing Clinic, the Indianapolis Mental Health Association, the Auxiliary to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the Methodist Women's Organization of Meridian Street Methodist Church, and the Elders of Meridian Street Methodist Church. For 10 years, she also served on the Executive Committee of the Ensemble Music Society, helping to bring world-famous chamber music ensembles to Indianapolis from all over the world. In addition, she and her husband were active members of Meridian Hills Country Club and Players, an amateur theater group founded by Booth Tarkington. At Bell Trace, she continued to make devoted, new friends, serving on the Residents' Council. A loving and concerned mother, she will be remembered for shaping her children's hearts and intellects, nurturing them in good times and consoling them in bad. She was preceded in death by her husband, John Edward Mackey. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Mackey and Zain Mackey; her son, John Clement Mackey; and five grandchildren, Jennifer Bradley, Joseph Mackey, Cynthia Everett, Elizabeth Mackey, and Dakota Mackey-McGee, all of whom will miss her sorely. A gathering to celebrate her life will be held at Day Funeral Home in Bloomington on Friday, April 16, 2010, at 3:00 p.m. Contributions in her name may be made to Ensemble Music Society, PO Box 40188, Indianapolis, IN 46240 or to The Dr. John E. Mackey Memorial Fund, co Indiana University Foundation, PO Box 500, Bloomington, IN 47407 (please put code number 38-MOBG-072 in memo area of check), or to a charity of choice. Online condolences may be offered at www.dayfuneral services.com