Robert Nelson McKenzie

Robert N. (Big Mac) McKenzie passed away on July 25, 2026, with his family members present, he was 73. He was the son of Robert D. and Clara M. (McReynolds) McKenzie on June 8, 1953, at Ball Memorial Hospital Muncie, Indiana.

He, along with his sister Kimberly K, attended Muncie Burris School (K-12) in Muncie, Indiana where he graduated in June 1972. While there he participated in sports, basketball, cross county, track, and baseball, earning 12 athletic letters over his four years of participation. It should be noted that his father, uncle, Bernard K. McKenzie, and aunt, Robert A. Falls, also attended Burris in the late 30’s and early 40’s.

After graduation he enrolled in Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana where he majored in Accounting with minors in Economics and Finance. It was at BSU that he met his future wife, Susan Joan Edmiston, (Crawfordsville, IN) who was majoring in Education with an emphasis on Foreign Language, Spanish. They both graduated in June 1976 with Robert obtaining his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Susan her Bachelor of Arts in Education. They then married August 14th, 1976, at Saint Bernard’s Catholic church in Crawfordsville, Indiana where the service was officiated by the Reverend Henny F. Ward.

He furthered his educational learning while employed by UTC Terminal & Connectors Division, by obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Saint Francis University, Fort Wayne, Indiana graduating in August 1986. Additionally, while employed, he achieved The World Class Proficiency of Operations Management License from The University of Dayton, Ohio in 1995 which had concentrations on such topics as Kaizen, Visual Workplace Management, Value Added Mapping, Setup Reduction, and Statistical Engineering along with several other key tools of management of the time.

Over his 46 years plus working career the couple first relocated to Paducah, Kentucky where Bob took the role of assistant office manager for Colonial Baking Company. Shortly thereafter they moved to Fort Wayne where he took the role of Office Manager for Holsum Bakery overseeing all aspects of day-to-day accounting activities. He also supported the introduction of a computer system, to automate the bakery production planning, payroll, and month end activities.

In January 1980, he took the role of Plant Controller for United Technologies Corporation (UTC) at the Terminals & Connectors division reporting to one of his life mentors, Joe McGrade, Controller of the Division. During his time with T&C’s he was promoted to the roles of Costs and Budgets Manager, Finance Manager, before becoming the Division Controller after his boss was promoted to the role of Vice President of the division.

This was followed with a promotion to the role of Operations Manager of the Peru, Indiana Plastic Molding facility where he supported the development and deployment of $25 million in new state of the art / technological upgraded molding equipment. He was then promoted to the role of Plant Manager of the Traverse City, Michigan Stamping Plant Operations.

He left in 1993 to follow his mentor to the Philips Automotive Electronics operation located in Auburn, Indiana taking on the role of Operations Manager of the Printed Wiring Boards (PWB’s) for use in Automotive, Industrial, and Agricultural applications with annual sales of approximately $75 million. The move allowed him and his family to relocate back closer to home and family. While there the site earned the Ford Motor Company Q1 award along with other awards from various customers. The Auburn facility was acquired by Mannesmann VDO, Germany, in 1998 where he then became the Plant Manager.

In 2001 the facility again changed ownership being sold to Kimball Electronics out of Jasper, Indiana. He, along with his entire staff, were retained and he was made General Manager reporting to then President Don Charron. In 2005 he took a lateral portion moving to Jasper, Indiana taking the role of General Manager of the $300 million electronics manufacturing site with over 900 employees servicing Automotive and Industrial applications. The biggest customer was TRW who conducted business with Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. The site was awarded numerous quality awards from all three major automotive customers during his tenure.

He is survived by his wife, Susan, of 50 years; sons, Robert Jake, Sean Mathew and Andrew Philip; grandsons, Robert Gary, Augustus Oliver; a sister, Dr. Kimberly McKenzie (Dr. Jerry Woodall); cousins Richard Falls, Brent Salyer, Teresa Cotton and Brent McKenzie.

He was a loving husband, father, and friend to many. He enjoyed supporting his sons’ high school athletic activities, often serving as an assistant to coaches and being scorekeeper for the teams. In addition, he and his sons often could be found in the fall hunting in Indiana for rabbits and other small game. Lifelong sports enthusiast, specifically Ball State Cardinals athletics, Indiana University Basketball, Notre Dame Football, and Indianapolis Colts Football.