Mallory
Mackay passed away peacefully on August 17, 2021 in Calgary, AB with her family
by her side. Mallory was born in Golden, BC on March 30, 1997 to Brian and Deb
Mackay. She grew up in Golden and one of her happiest days was when she became
a big sister to Cailyn at 2 years old. Cailyn became her best friend whom
she protected fiercely and loved unconditionally.
Mallory was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at only 7 months old
but that did not slow her down. She participated in almost every sport
available in Golden and was a member of the Golden Dolphins swim club, the
Golden Gymnastics club, and many other sports clubs. However, she found her
true passion on the ice. Mallory skated with the Golden Figure Skating club for
14 years, taking part in competitions throughout BC and even skating in the
summer at the Kelowna club. She was very proud when she made the Skate Canada
British Columbia Provincial skating team at a very young age.
Most summers were spent at Hummingbird resort on Mara lake, as
well as at the family cabin on Shuswap lake. She enjoyed spending time
with family and friends doing water sports such as swimming, wake boarding, and
knee boarding.
In 2009 her family grew with the addition of Tammy, Mallory’s
stepmom and new stepsisters, Jessica, and Rebecca. This group, along with
Cailyn, bonded over a memorable trip to Cuba.
Mallory was an honour student at Golden Secondary School and
went on to take business administration at the Southern Alberta Institute of
Technology (SAIT), in Calgary with the end goal of becoming a Chartered
Professional Accountant (CPA). In 2017, Mallory’s lung function declined
quickly, and she moved back to Golden to be with family. On August 22, 2017,
Mallory was given a second chance at life when she received a double lung
transplant in Edmonton. She showed her family and doctors her true strength
recovering from this major surgery. Just over a year after her transplant, she
returned to Calgary to continue her education. This is where she
purchased her first home when her sister Cailyn started going to university as
well. They lived together for almost three years. Mallory finished her Diploma
in 2019, after finishing some of her classes online when her health began to
decline once again. It was during this time she developed a unique relationship
with her future brother-in-law Eddie. Mallory and Eddie would go on
“adventures” while Cailyn was in school and the two spent a lot of time
together developing a strong, sibling-like bond.
Despite the challenges with Mallory’s health, she always lived
life to the fullest and encouraged family vacations. Mallory had fond memories
of a trip to Disneyland with her family as a child, as well as Mexico trips, a
Caribbean cruise, a memorable trip to Jamaica and most recently vacations in
Florida and Hawaii as well as a road trip to Vancouver Island. Mallory was
granted a wish from the Make-a-Wish foundation in 2014. She asked for an
African safari and was able to bring her mom Deb and sister Cailyn. They
travelled to Kenya and spent a week driving through the national parks taking
in the scenery, wildlife and culture of the area. They were also able to
explore Amsterdam on a layover between their flights where they took a canal cruise
and walked throughout the city.
Mallory bought a Jeep Wrangler in June of 2017 which became a
project that her and her dad worked on and that she was very proud of. She
changed everything that was chrome to black, got a lift kit, put on big wheels
and tires, had automatic running boards installed and of course added some pink
touches! She loved taking people for cruises with the top off.
She is survived and lovingly missed by her parents Deb and Brian
(Tammy) Mackay, her sister Cailyn Mackay and brother-in-law Eddie Leigan, her
stepsisters Jessica (Callum) and Rebecca (Brandon) Persson, her grandparents
Gordon and Anna Mackay, as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins, and
friends.
She is predeceased by her grandparents Jack and Pam Sterling, as
well as her uncles Scot and Steve Sterling.
Mallory will never be forgotten and will always be loved by so
many. She was positive despite the difficulties she lived with daily and never
wanted to be a burden on anyone. She never complained and always thought of others
first.
Many thanks to the family of Mallory for a donation of $1000 to the Friends of the Golden & District Hospital.