Frank MacKenzie (c1942 - 2009)

I got a mass-email this morning telling everybody in our graduation class that our classmate Frank MacKenzie had died Saturday, Saturday, August 15, 2009, in Jacksonville, Florida.

I hated to hear Frank had died. In my early teen years his family lived directly behind us. We lived on Richard Street and they lived on Toliver Street. His family was new in town. His father was a veterinarian, owning a clinic on the 4-Lane.

Frank had a brother named Mike who had a ventriloquist type of puppet – the kind that you put on your knee and move his lips and throw your voice. He also had a sister named Beth. Most of the toys they had were educational type of toys. I thought the dummy was the most impressive toy in the house.

The email went on to say Frank has been very sick the past several years. Two sons survived him.

Frank and I never did hit it off as close friends. I don’t think we disliked each other. We just chose to ignore each other through high school - probably because we ran with completely different types of people. His friends carried around research books and slide rules and my bunch didn’t carry any books unless one had something funny in it.

About 1970, years after we graduated and I was married I ran into Frank at Treasure Island Discount Store. He was a floor manager of some kind. He looked very busy and very concerned and focused on is work.

I think he was a good person who wanted to do right.