It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of Marilyn MacKenzie on October 6, 2024. Born and raised in Toronto, only child of George and Verna McNaughton, Marilyn attended Neuchatel Junior College in Switzerland in 1964-65 where she met her future husband, Murray.
Marilyn graduated from Nursing at the University of Toronto and subsequently worked as a staff nurse and then Head Nurse at the Hospital for Sick Children, before returning to school to do a Masters of Adult Education. She was a teacher at the community college level in a range of subjects. She became a renowned consultant working throughout North America, and with her partner, Gail Moore, she published five books on the management of not for profit organizations. Later in her career she became Director of Volunteers at the Hospital for Sick Children.
She was blessed with a lifelong love affair with Murray, her kindred spirit and greatest champion. They were married for almost fifty-five years. Beloved mother to three children, Jennifer (David), Katherine (John) and Kenneth (Karen) and grandmother to five, Olivia, Jack, Emma, Madeline and Nora.
She was extremely proud of all of her children and grandchildren and derived great pleasure from all of their adventures and achievements.
Marilyn was a traveller and had some remarkable adventures. She and Murray visited more than a hundred countries in all parts of the world, some of them extremely remote. Marilyn was a positive force in the world, reaching out to those in need, solving problems and making people feel better wherever she went. She had good friends across North America.
She was a lifelong volunteer, philanthropist and activist in the cause of cancer control, the support of people living with HIV and AIDS, and became a committed environmentalist. She will be sorely missed by her family and by her many friends. A memorial service will be held in Toronto in November. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Canadian Cancer Society or make a donation in her memory to a charity that is meaningful to you.
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I recall Marilyn at U of T, School of Nursing about the same time – a leader in the making.
Rest in Peace.
Marilyn was such a kind, joyful and generous woman. God bless her soul,, and condolences to Murray and her family.