Obituary : Melville G. MacKay Jr.

Published: April 17, 2008

Melville G. MacKay Jr. died peacefully on April 15, after a long struggle with cardio-pulmonary disease.

Born Sept. 10, 1933, in Rochester, New York, Mr. MacKay was the son of the former Helen Stein of Rochester and Melville G. MacKay Sr. of Pictou, Nova Scotia. He grew up in upstate New York and attended Syracuse Central High School, where he was class treasurer, played baseball and tennis, excelled as a violinist in the orchestra and trombonist in the band, and became the school's first graduate to go on to Harvard College. In Boston, he met Barbara Norton of Wellesley. They married in 1954 and raised two sons in New York and Massachusetts.

Mr. MacKay distinguished himself in banking as a trust officer with Lincoln Rochester Trust Company in Corning and Rochester, N.Y., and as an investment officer with New England Merchants National Bank in Boston. In 1972, the family moved to Martha's Vineyard Island, where he served as vice president of the Martha's Vineyard National Bank and executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Edgartown National Bank. Over the course of his career, he served on many boards and also was president of Deerfield Groves Co. of Wabasso, Florida, grower of acclaimed Orchid-brand fruit.

An avid reader, Mr. MacKay loved both nonfiction and poetry. He was an amateur poet and passed on a love of music and literature to his children. The beauty of Martha's Vineyard, Scotland, Nova Scotia, and particularly Blue Mountain Lake in the Adirondacks inspired him. In 1987, he and Barbara retired to East Dennis, where he lived until his death.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by devoted family and friends, including son Mel and his wife, Laura, of Bangor, Maine, and their children, Gordon, Scout, and Tim; son Jack of Putney, Vermont; sister Joan MacKay Brown, her son Jeff and his wife Karen and their children, Matt and Allison, of Martha's Vineyard; sister Janet Kittley, her husband Bill, and daughters Sue and Beth, of Minnesota; sister-in-law Betty Dolan and her husband Bob Dolan of Yarmouth Port and their children, Annie, Kari, Deb, and Josh. He was predeceased by special daughter-in-law Karen McDowell MacKay.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may sent to the donor's favorite charity. A private service is planned.