Tom Mackin

MACKIN, Thomas Earl. Thomas E. Mackin (Tom), age 84, died on June 30, 2021, after a brief illness. He is survived by his three sons: Lee Richerson Mackin (Coby), Jeffrey Lewis Mackin (Joanne), Russell Payne Mackin (Layne); five grandchildren—Marlee Kathryn, Luke Thomas, Jake Thomas, Sadie Harper, Brett Thomas; four brothers—Cooper (Mary), John (Cheryl), Steve (Linda), Jimmy (Joy); and four sisters---Cecilia Hughes, Sylvia Odom (Wayne), Janis Winslett (Stan), and Leah Washburn (Butch). He was predeceased by his father, the late Thomas Richerson Mackin, in 1973; his mother, the late Muriel Green Mackin, in 2005; a baby sister, Gloria, in 1951; and a brother, the late Dan Mackin, in 2007.

Tom was born on May 21, 1937, in Selma, and grew up there. He was a resident of Montgomery for 58 years, from 1963, until his death. He served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1961, and was stationed in Hawaii, where he was a member of the Army Band. He held a bachelor's degree from Troy State University and a master’s degree from Auburn University in Montgomery. He was a reporter and columnist for the Montgomery Advertiser from 1963 to 1966. Following that, he was a writer and supervising editor at the Air University Press at Maxwell Air Force Base, from 1966 until his retirement in 2001.

Tom loved athletics. He was an ardent and skillful tennis player, playing for Troy State University, winning multiple tournaments around town and at Woodley Country Club, and playing USTA team tennis until a knee replacement forced him to stop in his 80’s . He was a founding member of the Montgomery Cardinals Senior League Baseball Club, and, according to Jim Fyffe, at one time was the oldest player to get a hit in the oldest ballpark in America (Rickwood Field). He spent many years coaching his boys’ baseball teams in the Southeastern League, from Dixie Youth through Dixie Majors, and served on the board of the Southeastern YMCA. He also loved language, especially writing, and he wrote beautifully. But after his family his greatest love was music—all sorts, but especially jazz, big band, and the ballads of the 1930’s and 1940’s. He played the baritone saxophone exceptionally well and was a member of several bands until his death (The Capitol Sounds Concert Band, The Upbeats Combo, and The Prattville Pops).

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Tom’s honor to The Capitol Sounds Concert Band.