James “Jim” Edward Mackie
James “Jim” Edward Mackie, 84, of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully, while surrounded by his family on Sunday, May 18th, 2025, at CareOne at Millbury, due to his terminal illness.
Jim was born on July 9th, 1940 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, son of the late John Mackie Sr. and Alice (Rajala) Mackie, and graduated from Fitchburg Memorial High School in 1961.
Shortly after graduating high school, Jim’s first job was a car detailer for a used car dealership. He met his first wife, the late Patricia R. (Temple) Mackie, at the old Whalom Park in Lunenburg, MA. They were married in 1964 at St. Patrick’s in Rutland, MA. In 1970, he and his wife and two children, Chris and Shelby, moved to Cape Cod where he was a truck driver for Hinkley Lumber Co. in Hyannis, MA for many years. He met his second wife, Donna (Gallagher) Mackie of Dennis, MA, at Hinkley’s and they were married in 1981. In 1982, they moved to Milford, NH where he lived with his wife, Donna, and their son, Ian. For many years, Jim worked as the Cemetery Sexton and Foreman of Parks & Cemeteries for the DPW of the town of Milford, NH and was very proud of his work there. In 1993, Jim moved back the Cape where he started and his own landscaping company. In 2003 he met his longtime partner, Margaret White of Chatham, MA. His last job before retiring was at Chatham Ford, car dealership in Chatham, MA. In 2017, Jim moved back to NH due to his declining health and to be closer to his family and since 2021, Jim had been residing and receiving care at a long-term care facility in central Massachusetts.
Jim, a.k.a. “Big Jim”, will be remembered by those who knew and loved him, for his love of the Boston Red Sox, NASCAR, music, and feeding the birds.
He leaves behind his beloved and devoted children, Christopher “Chris” J. Mackie and his wife Jennifer “Jen” Mackay of Greenfield, NH, Shelby R. Hamel and her husband William “Bill” A. Hamel III of Brookline, NH, and Ian Mackie and his partner Meghan Glenn of Dennis, MA; his grandchildren, whom he loved and adored, Christopher W. Mackie, Rayne Mitchell-Mackie, Sara A. Mackie, and Lillian I. Hamel; his siblings, Dennis Mackie and his wife Judy Mackie of Franklin, MA, Carol Weston and her husband Steve Weston of Berlin, MA, and his many nieces and nephews.
Jim is predeceased by his sister Patricia “Patty” Boucher of Gardner, MA, his brother John “Butch” Mackie of Narragansett, RI, his brother George A. Mackie of Leominster, MA, his niece Jayne-Ann Boucher and his grandson Benjamin W. Hamel.
Services: Calling hours will be held on Friday, May 30, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM in the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH. A
funeral service will follow the visiting hours at 12:00 PM in the funeral home Chapel with Father Dennis Audet officiating. Burial will conclude in the Riverside Cemetery, Milford, NH.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to either; American Red Cross, www.redcross.org, or to Wounded Warrior Project, www.support.woundedwarriorproject.org, two organizations that Jim made regular donations to.
Arrangements are in the care of the Smith & Heald Funeral Home, 63 Elm Street, Milford, NH 03055. To share a memory or offer a condolence please visit www.smith-heald.com for more information.