Dr. Robert W. Mackie, 89; As Navy Captain, Treated JFK

FLY CREEK – Robert W. Mackie, M.D., retired Navy captain who treated President John F. Kennedy and later established Bassett Healthcare’s neurosurgical program, passed away peacefully at his home in Fly Creek on Sunday morning, Aug. 3, 2008, surrounded by his family. He was 89.
Dr. Mackie was also known locally as an avid flier who had a 1,100-foot grass runway installed behind his home in the Fly Creek Valley.
Born in Albany on Dec. 21, 1918, to Joseph Wilfred Mackie and Stella Ford Mackie, he grew up in New York and Canada.
He married the former Lidie McWhinney Smith on Oct. 14, 1944, in South Mills, N.C.
After graduating from Hofstra University and the Long Island College of Medicine, he entered the Navy Medical Corps in 1944. At the end of World War II, he served in the Pacific Theatre on the USS Sumter.
Following the war, he served on the USS Cape Gloucester and the USS Coral Sea, and went on to complete a fellowship in neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital.
He became chief of neurosurgery, first at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan, then at Bethesda Naval Hospital, where he had the distinction of treating Kennedy, including house calls to the White House.
After his retirement from the Navy in 1964, Dr. Mackie came to the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital. He retired from Bassett Healthcare in 1982.
He restored vintage aircraft, served as an FAA flight examiner, earned his commercial instrument rating, and served as president of the local chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association. The runway behind his home was the scene of frequent impromptu “fly-ins”.
Dr. Mackie is survived by his eldest son, Angus, and his wife, Donna, and their two children, Kyle and Morgan, of Cooperstown; Robert W. Mackie, Jr., M.D., his wife, Julie, and their daughter, Leska, of Salt Lake City, Utah; his daughter, Jennie Johannesen, and her two children, Alex and Kate, of Fly Creek; Tom Mackie and his wife, Meg, and their two children, Callie and Sam, of Sudbury, Mass.; and Bo (Steve) Mackie, his wife, Martha, and their three children, Sarah, Erin, and Joseph, of Springfield, Va.
He was predeceased by his loving wife of 52 years, Lidie Smith Mackie, former Otsego town justice, who died Dec. 3, 1998, and one sister, Stella Mener.
A public memorial service, including The Office of the Burial of the Dead (Rite I) from the Book of Common Prayer, was offered Tuesday, Aug. 5, at Christ Episcopal Church in Cooperstown, with the Rev. Samuel B. Abbott, rector, officiating.
Scripture lessons were offered by two of Dr. Mackie’s sons, Bo and Angus; remembrances were shared by Dr. Mackie’s daughter-in-law, Donna Mackie, and two of his sons, and Bill and Tom Mackie. The flowers were lovingly arranged and provided by Dr. Mackie’s daughter, Jennie.
The Blue Monday Trio, consisting of Angus Mackie on upright bass, and Dr. Gus Leinhart and Joe Siracusa on guitars, performed “What A Wonderful World.” The service concluded with the Absolution of the Dead from St. Augustine’s Prayer Book.
As Dr. Mackie’s urn was borne from the church, those assembled followed in procession through the church cemetery as the church bell tolled 89 times to mark the years of Dr. Mackie’s life.
The committal followed at the Ecumenical Columbarium in the Christ Church churchyard. Military honors were accorded by local veterans and the Navy Funeral Honor Guard.
Following the committal, all were invited to a gathering at the Mackie Farm in Fly Creek.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Fly Creek Volunteer Fire Company, P.O. Box 218, Fly Creek, NY 13337.
Arrangements were by the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.

Neelan Deuel, 71, Dies in Florida; Owned Fly Creek Auto-Body Shop

FLY CREEK – Neelan (Neel) E. Deuel, of Fruitland Park, Fla., formerly of Fly Creek, died Thursday, June 5, 2008, at The Villages Hospice House in Villages, Fla. He was 71.
Born Oct. 4, 1936, in Oneonta, he was a son of C. Burnett and Florence C. (Hoag) Deuel.
Raised in the Baptist faith, Neelan attended Laurens Central School and later served in the Army. An avid hunter, he loved the outdoors.
Throughout much of his life, Neelan was an auto body repairman. For a time he was employed by Smith Ford in Cooperstown, and later owned and operated his own auto body repair shop in Fly Creek.
After moving to Fruitland Park in 1979, he was employed as the auto-body man at Custom Coaches in Leesburg.
Neelan married Lois (Bird) Deuel and they had two boys, Charles Deuel of Lowell, Fla., and George Deuel of Belleview, Fla.; and three daughters, Nanette Cranston of Belleview, Fla., Karen Howard of Bearsville, Ga., and Patsey Weaver of Anthoney, Fla.
In addition to his wife, Lois, and their five children, Neelan is survived by 11 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and one sister, Mrs. Selma D. Shepard of Fly Creek.
He was predeceased by three brothers, Nelson Deuel, who died in 1940; Merle G. Deuel, who died in 1984, and Harold M. Deuel, who died in 1995.
Memorial donations may be made to Cornerstone Hospice (formerly Hospice of Lake & Sumter Counties), 2445 Lane Park Road, Tavares, FL 32778.
At the convenience of the family, burial will be at a later date in the West Oneonta Cemetery.

Caleb Yerdon Survives

CHERRY VALLEY – Rick Yerdon’s first-born grandson, Caleb Yerdon, was inadvertently left off the list of survivors in his grandfather’s obituary, which was published in the July 11 edition of The Freeman’s Journal.

Labels: Obituaries