Gary John Mackey

Gary "John" Mackey Gary "John" Mackey was born on November 14th, 1958 in Mt. Holly, New Jersey to John R. Mackey and Ockhee Mackey. He graduated from Copperas Cove High School in 1975. He attended Southwest Texas with a major in commercial art, but did not see eye to eye with his instructors. Thus began the rebellious artistic journey of our friend John Mackey. While he took jobs painting signs, houses, and mixing paint at Breed and Co. for over twenty years, he always maintained an unwavering commitment to his own artistic ideal, one that was singular and often perplexing. He could draw, cartoon, paint, sculpt, rhyme, act, and play guitar, trumpet, piano, and harmonica all with a wry intelligence that often went overlooked due to his laid back style. Sometimes, unsatisfied with a piece of work, he would destroy it, usually making a copy first on the Xerox machine he kept in his apartment amongst his classic guitars, antique guns, hot wheels, pop art, skateboard decks, and a music collection ranging from Glenn Gould to Sonny Boy Williamson, from Miles Davis to Radiohead. He jammed skillfully with many musicians over the years moving easily from bluegrass to Chicago blues. John Mackey leaves behind a strong legion of friends and fans. Most of all we will remember his humor, his generosity, and his searing intelligence. We've lost not only a great friend, but a great mind.