Mallory MacKay

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.