Alice Willard Mackey

Alice Willard Mackey died peacefully on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 in Lexington, MA.

Born February 27, 1920 in New London, CT, Alice grew up along the Thames River in Groton, CT, in the home bought by her seafaring grandfather, in which her mother had also been raised. When the Great Depression hit and the family fell on hard times, her mother rolled up her sleeves, took in boarders, and worked hard to ensure not only that did they not lose their home, but that Alice and her brother Allen would be raised with access to art and culture, including the flute lessons that led Alice to a life infused with music.

Alice graduated Groton’s Fitch High School as class valedictorian in 1937, and entered Wellesley College, sponsored by a generous aunt, graduating in 1941. Soon after, she was accepted to the Executive Training Program at Jordan Marsh. As an accessories buyer, she was the first American buyer to travel to European markets after World War II, sailing first class on the Queens Mary and Elizabeth to purchase fine handkerchiefs from countries noted for embroidery and lacework. She was proud of being the one to negotiate a million-dollar handkerchief purchase for Allied Stores. In 1956, when the glamor of the handkerchief industry had faded, she and her friend Zari abruptly quit their jobs and took off on an adventure through Egypt, Turkey and Greece, making one hotel reservation for the night of their arrival and improvising from that point forward. On her return, she worked for her brother’s company, James Bliss & Co. (subsequently Bliss Marine), and then for the Wellesley Alumnae office, punctuating her time with further travel whenever possible, and cherishing time with her young nieces and nephew.

In 1960, after a fourteen-year on-and-off courtship and a ten-day engagement, she married her best friend, George Whitelaw Mackey, a mathematics professor at Harvard. She had just been offered a job as Director of Alumnae Affairs at Wellesley, but declined the job to join George on an extended sabbatical to Europe. Their daughter Ann was born in 1963. Over the years, they travelled extensively together, including multiple long trips throughout Europe and Asia.

As a flutist, Alice played in chamber music and orchestral groups at home and abroad. At home in Cambridge, MA, she and George entertained often, hosting elegant dinner parties for the mathematical community and beyond. She was an active member of many organizations, including the Saturday Morning Club, the Mother’s Thursday Club, the Quaestus Club, Harvard Neighbors, the Chilton Club and the Harvard Musical Association. She was a skilled needleworker. On evenings at home, George read aloud to her while she knit sweaters for loved ones and created elaborate needlepoint hangings and pillows, as well as petit point rugs for her remarkable miniature collection. This collection, begun as a joint mother-daughter project in the 1970s ultimately occupied quarter century of collecting around the world, and was exhibited numerous times, including once at the Schlesinger Library in Cambridge. Always fashionable, Alice acquired brightly-colored dresses from across the globe, loving Marimekko in particular, and kept up her dramatic sense of style even in her last years. Her home was filled with bright color, antiques, art, oriental rugs, pottery, and whimsical animal figurines of all kinds.

After George’s death, Alice moved to Brookhaven at Lexington, where she continued making music and maintained an active social calendar. Just before the pandemic curtailed all social activity, she celebrated her 100th birthday, commanding the room in one of her signature Marimekkos.

Alice was charming, engaging, interesting, deeply intelligent, elegant, strongly opinionated, and hilariously funny. She loved travel, music and the arts, and was always eager to meet new people and see new things. She loved fiercely. As a mother, she emulated her own mother’s determination to expose her daughter to music and culture, and when her two grandchildren, Ethan and Sara, came into her life, she carried that interest forward, ensuring that her first grandchild got to a museum within six weeks of birth, supporting them both in music throughout their school years, and loving them unconditionally. She never missed a chance to make an introduction or learn about someone’s life, and the moment she heard that someone was considering picking up an instrument or contemplating an opportunity, she would enthusiastically push them to grab the moment. She was a true friend.

She is survived by her beloved family, including daughter Ann Sturges Mackey, son-in-law David Makulec, grandchildren Ethan and Sara Makulec, as well as many nieces and nephews, including Marnie Krupski, David Willard and Alice Willard-Michaels (children of her late brother Allen), Dorothy Mackey Lurié (her niece by marriage), grand and great-grand nieces and nephews, and also many devoted friends.

Burial will be private, with a celebration of life expected to follow at a later date, when it is once again safe to gather people together. Ever the gracious hostess, she had left notes for event refreshments with champagne and proper hors d’oeuvres, but since we cannot do that now, please take an opportunity at the moment of your choosing to raise a glass to her and share a memory or two.

In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations in her name to any music or arts organization that is personally significant, especially those encouraging young musicians, or else to Doctors Without Borders.