Mac William “Bill” or “Happy” Lackey, 96, of Huntsville, AL, passed away on June 26, 2017.
The funeral service will be held Friday, June 30, 2017 at 11:00 am at Central Presbyterian Church in Huntsville. Visitation will be held on Thursday, June 29, 2017 from 6:00 – 8:00 pm at Berryhill Funeral Home in Huntsville. Burial at Maple Hill Cemetery will immediately follow the service on Friday. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Berryhill Funeral Home.
Mac was born in Detroit, MI on October 29, 1920, to Eva Manista and Pavel Josef Lutrzykowski, Polish immigrants who later Americanized the family name to Lackey. Mac graduated from Chadsey High School, studied at Wayne State University, Michigan Technical Institute and Detroit Electronics Institute.
Mac enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 1942, and was immediately assigned to the 12th Armored Division, 23rd Tank Battalion, A Company. He trained at Camp Campbell until November 1943, participating in the Tennessee Maneuvers. The 12th Armored was then sent to Camp Barkeley in Abilene, TX for combat readiness testing. Upon completion of their training in September 1944, the 12th Armored travelled by train to Camp Shanks, NY for embarkation to England. The division eventually made their way to Southhampton, England, where they crossed the English Channel into France arriving in November 1944 and proceeded to the front lines of combat.
Mac fought with the 23rd Tank Battalion across western France and eastern Germany and was wounded in Lohnsfeld, Germany on March 19, 1945 as part of General George S. Patton’s famous “drive to the Rhine River”. He was subsequently awarded the Purple Heart, in addition to the European-Asian-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with 3 Bronze Stars representing the Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and Rhineland Campaigns), Army of Occupation Medal (with Germany clasp), WWII Victory Medal, Good Conduct Medal and American Theater Ribbon.
After the war in Europe ended, Mac was assigned to the 1st Armored Division and remained in Germany as part of the occupation force. He was honorably discharged in February 1946, and returned home to Detroit.
Mac married Katherine Hollingsworth on November 2, 1954, after which they honeymooned in Havana, Cuba. They were married 62 wonderful years, and raised five children.
Mac worked as an Electronics Engineer for most of his career with Chrysler Corporation. His first assignment was with their Aerospace Division, which transferred him to Huntsville to work on the Mercury-Redstone (MR) Project. Specifically, he acted as the overall Test Conductor, giving final acceptance to NASA’s Quality Division on the flight readiness of the MR-7 thrust unit (rocket engine) which was used to send Alan Shepard into orbit (the first American in space). After the MR program phased out, he transferred to the Saturn V program, where he performed the same role on the thrust units that sent Neil Armstrong to the moon.
His remaining years at Chrysler were spent in their Electronics (automotive) Division, as an electrical engineer working on various electronics products.
After retiring from Chrysler, Mac started another career, as a civilian instructor teaching classes on TOW (Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wireless-Guided) Missile Systems at Redstone Arsenal. During retirement, Mac enjoyed repairing all sorts of electronic items, especially televisions. He was an avid reader, and even studied electronic textbooks well into his later years, and enjoyed traveling and spending time with his family.
For his military service to his country, he was awarded an Honorary Master’s Degree from Cumberland University (honoring surviving veterans of the Tennessee Maneuvers) in May 2012 and the French Legion of Honor Medal by the French Consulate in 2014 (France’s highest honor).
Mac is survived by his wife, Katherine; daughter Melissa “Missy” Lackey of Ardmore, AL; sons Mike (Sherry) Lackey of Huntsville, Greg (Lisa) Lackey of Grant, AL, Geoff (Angela) Lackey of Columbia, TN, and Joel (Laurie) Lackey of Oxford, MS; grandsons Nathan (Shannon) Lackey of Huntsville, AL, Noah Lackey of Oxford, MS, and Coby Lackey of Grant, AL; sisters-in-law Ann (Vance) Stinnett of Gurley, AL, and Connie (Larry) Butler of Huntsville; brother-in-law Paul Kraska of Livonia, MI; and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, Mac was preceded in death by sisters, Marie DeLand and Virginia Kraska, and brothers Tom Lackey, Walter Lackey, and Chester Lackey.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Building Fund at Central Presbyterian Church or the Alzheimer’s Association located at 117 Longwood Drive SW, Suite A, Huntsville, AL 35801.