Obituary of Anthony James MacKay

Anthony James It is with sadness that the family announces that Anthony MacKay died suddenly on June 4 2016, at Royal University Hospital. Tony is survived by sons Douglas and Ronald (Sharon) MacKay, sister in law Ramona Swanick, grandchildren, Marie (Jeremy) Hildebrandt, Michael (Cindy) MacKay, Claire MacKay (fiancée Stuart Glasgow) and great grandchildren, Bryson Hildebrandt, Catherine, Victoria and Elizabeth MacKay, honorary daughter Betty Zatylny, neices and nephews and great nieces and nephews and friends. He was predeaceased by his wife Nelda Elnora MacKay, parents John and Mary Mykytiuk, sisters Annie (Mike) Strutz, Rosella (Walter) Stoyanowski, Pearl (Bud) Dobbins and brothers Jack (Tina) MacKay, Michael (Mary) MacKay, Bill (Irene) MacKay, parents-in-law, Ethel and James Heffren, brothers-in-law, Orville Heffren, Glen Swanick, ,sisters-in-law, Helen (Joe) August and Rev. Hazel Heffren Tony was born September 17, 1915 to Ukrainian immigrant parents, three years after their arrival in Canada, near Macrorie, Sask. After spending his early years on the family farm, he graduated high school from Bedford Road Collegiate in 1937. In 1942, he enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces and was discharged honorably in 1944. He enrolled at the University of Toronto in 1945 and graduated with a BSc in Physics in 1949. Anthony began his career with the meteorological office in Toronto and stayed there until he moved to Illinois to work for the American Medical Association in 1951.While in the area, he met Nelda Heffren. They were married in 1953 and settled in Hazelcrest. Doug was born in 1954, followed by Ron in 1957. In 1956, Tony began to work as a physicist at Argonne National Laboratories in Chicago. In 1962, the family pulled up roots and headed north to Saskatchewan. Anthony began work for the Government of Saskatchewan as the first Provincial Radiation Health Officer in Canada. He worked in the position until his retirement on October 1 in 1980. Tony was an active member of Lakeview United Church in Regina, and a member and archivist for the Canadian Radiation Protection Association (CRPA) from 1987-2010, attending yearly conferences all over North America. A Scholarship through the CRPA has been established in his name. He was also a member of Regina Astronomical Society and a monthly blood donor at the Red Cross for many years. His family was the most treasured part of his life and he was always there for us. He never lost the joy of learning something new and continued to have a curiosity about the world until his death. His favorite pastimes included gardening, berry picking, traveling and sightseeing, reading (science, history, philosophy, current events and politics), and coin collecting. Dad was a generous, kind and principled human being and a great role model for his family and friends. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to a charity of choice.