Ian Mackie passed away on June 24, 2026, a few days short of his 95th birthday. He was born on June 27, 1931, to Robert J. Mackie and Helen S. Mackie in Peterhead, Scotland.

He attended St. Peter’s Episcopal School and Peterhead Academy until age 17, obtaining the Scottish Higher School Certificate, then known as the Scottish Leaving Certificate. His main interest at that time was airplanes, of which he saw many during World War II.

At age 17, he was employed as an aircraft apprentice by Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company at Coventry, England. During this time, he obtained the Lower and Higher National Certificates in aeronautical engineering at Coventry Technical College, now Coventry College.

After completing his apprenticeship, he met and married his wife, Eileen Patience Weaver, on April 2, 1956. That year, they went to Canada because of the scarcity of aircraft work in England. They traveled to Canada by boat, as there were no flights at the time.

They settled in Toronto, and Ian was employed as a production planner for Avro Aircraft at its Malton, Ontario plant. He worked on a special project, mainly a Canadian flying saucer or Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar, a secret US military project. A goal of the project was to create an aircraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing, similar to a flying saucer.

After two years, he moved to the De Havilland Aircraft Company at Downsview, Ontario. There, he worked on the DHC-4 Caribou and DHC-5 Buffalo aircraft, known for their short takeoff and landing capabilities, which were used during the US war in Vietnam.

During that time, Ian and Eileen had two children, Stephen and Suzanne, both born in Canada.

At work, Ian gradually advanced until he became a production engineer manager for De Havilland of Canada, which eventually became Douglas Aircraft of Canada.

After working with US personnel, Ian decided to join Boeing in Washington state. Positions were available because there was a “brain drain” at Boeing at the time, driven by a shortage of skilled engineers and laborers for the Supersonic Transport (SST) and 747 aircraft. At Boeing, he worked for 20 years on most of the company’s airplanes and hydrofoils.

During his time at Boeing, Ian was honored for developing a mathematical formula for calculating hydrofoil waterline heights.

In his home life, Ian loved soccer and became a coach. He served as a coach for ten years, and he, with his son, Stephen, won many games.

Ian is survived by his wife of seventy years, Eileen; his children and their spouses, Stephen (Kellie Mackie); and Suzanne (Bob Bordelon); his sister Wilma Geddes; his grandchildren and their spouses/partners: MacKenzie (Jami Mackie); Katie (Nolan Wolgamott); and Nicholas Bordelon (Sammie Trescott); and his great-grandsons, Emitt and Sawyer Mackie.

Special thanks to his private caregivers and all the assistance and love Ian received at Rosario Assisted Living and Homeplace Memory Care.

To share memories of Ian, please complete his online guest register and bookmark this direct link 
 www.evanschapel.com/obituary/ian-mackie to check for update.