William “Bill” Alexander McKenzie, of Natick, MA, died late Monday afternoon, November 26, 2012, after a long and remarkable life that we wish could have been longer.
A master cabinet maker and craftsman, he designed and built countless pieces of beauty, including a summer home in Wellfleet, MA. Born at the Carney Hospital in Dorchester on February 27, 1930, his father John was a cabinet maker and his mother Mary worked at the Green Shoe Factory (Stride Rite). Bill grew up in Boston and graduated from the Boston Trade School. He met Eleanor “Nellie” Woolhouse while roller skating and they were married in a winter wedding in 1951 so that they could go downhill skiing in Quebec on their honeymoon. Bill continued to ski into his seventies and he loved many outdoor activities including ice skating, boating, clamming, and fishing. Bill had amazing physical strength and endurance, and he could fix anything. He had the biggest hands of anyone around and the most wonderful blue eyes. He often said that if you could imagine something and draw it then you could build it. He was the owner of McKenzie Cabinet Shop in Needham, MA where he worked until he was seventy-five and his body began to betray him with Parkinsonism, most likely from the stains and varnishes with which he worked. He leaves his family and friends better for having known him and he leaves his adoring Boston Terriers, Lucy, Mollie, and Nellie sad and looking out the window for him to come home to the Natick home he lived in for sixty-one years.
Married for 52 years, his beloved Eleanor died in 2003. His three children: William A. McKenzie II of West Yarmouth, MA, Donna M. McKenzie of Natick, MA, and Laura McKenzie Baker and her husband Tom of Whitinsville, MA are grateful for having had him as their father and hope to carry his kindness and generosity in their hearts. He was blessed with four grandsons: William III, Eric, and Andrew McKenzie and Robert McKenzie Baker of Whitinsville, MA of whom he was very proud. He leaves his brother James McKenzie and his wife Lucia of Holiday, Florida, his sisters-in-law, Marie McKenzie Frederickson of Yarmouthport, Margaret Dugas of Norton, and Evelyn Wolff and her husband Albert of Concord, and numerous nieces and nephews. His brother John and sister Helen predeceased him.
Calling hours will be held on Sunday, December 2, 2012 from 3 to 7 PM in the John Everett & Sons Funeral Home, 4 Park St. (at Natick Common) Natick. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, December 3, 2012 at 10:00 AM in St. Patrick’s Church, 44 East Central St. (Rt. 135) Natick. Burial will follow in St. Patrick’s Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy may be made in Bill’s name to the Natick Service Council, 2 Webster St. Natick, MA 0760 or the MSPCA Angell Memorial Medical Center, 350 South Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02130. For directions and online guestbook please visit the funeral home website at www.everettfuneral.com