James A. Mackie

James Alan Mackie, 90, of San Francisco, CA, formerly of Holbrook, MA, died peacefully May 26th, 2020. The son of Wilfred J. Mackie and Annie Arsenault (Mackie), he is survived by his sister Marie Dickinson (Franklin), sister-in-law Bette Mackie (Kingston), brother-in-law Leo Peloquin (Mansfield) as well as many nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews. His siblings Helen Peloquin, Wilfred J. Mackie and Wade Mackie predeceased him.

He had lifelong friendships on both coasts and was a caring and fun loving brother and uncle. His friends knew him as ‘Jim’ or ‘Mackie’, while his family knew him as ‘Alan’ and he referred to himself as ‘the ogre under the stairs’ to the delight of his great nieces and nephews. An avid reader and collector of books and music, Alan amassed a large personal library of close to 20,000 books which filled his home from floor to ceiling in San Francisco and which he shared freely with anyone who was interested. His passion for literature included science fiction, fantasy, history and technology. Young adult and juvenile books were also a favorite and were inspiration for his fantastical storytelling and imagination.

Alan was kind, gentle, quick to laugh and challenge the status quo. With a twinkle in his eye and a quick quip, he was known to spontaneously show up at your doorstep with books in hand and a box of chocolate. Alan’s door was always open. Friends and family were the fortunate recipients of his generosity and his elaborate dinner parties filled with conversation, good food, politics, wine, and laughter.

Multiple times a week he would peruse the offerings of Community Thrift Shops and Salvation Army Stores searching for unusual and often overlooked children’s books. He found enjoyment walking in Golden Gate Park, reading on the beach, attending the San Francisco symphony or enjoying a perfectly made martini with friends.

As he was fond of saying, his mother ‘took him by the hand’ to Boston University where he began his lifelong love of learning. After graduating from B.U., Alan became employed as a librarian for the Boston Public Library. In 1955 he was drafted into the U.S. Army, Okinawa, Japan where he served in the 663rd Field Artillery Battalion. His time was spent in personnel, special courts martial and special services where he ran the Camp Kue Library. Following his discharge from the military, Alan went on to receive his A.B. at the University of California at Berkeley and completed Master’s degrees in Anthropology and Librarianship. Alan’s love of the written word was lifelong and he spent many years serving in branch, educational, prison, public and college libraries. After 18 years as a librarian at the University of California in San Francisco, Alan retired in 1992.

Alan will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.