Posted on 07/11/2019
James Murdock MacKenzie (December 9, 1953 - July 5, 2019)
James Murdock MacKenzie, Jr. died peacefully surrounded by his family at Falls Church, VA on July 5, 2019. He was 65 years old.
The son of a career Marine officer, Jamie was born in Syracuse, NY and graduated from Quantico High School where he was a 2015 inductee to the Hall of Fame as a three-sport athlete and leader. At the Naval Academy, he lettered as a varsity swimmer. Diagnosed with advanced stage Hodgkin’s disease in his youngster year, Jamie endured grueling treatments while maintaining pace with his classwork and professional duties. He was an inspiration to all with his toughness, dogged perseverance, positive attitude and dedication to the Navy in the face of adversity. Confronted with a medical board recommendation of “not physically qualified” for commissioning, Jamie challenged the decision with the full support of his chain of command. He ultimately won his appeal, graduated with the Class in June of 1975 as a member of the 24th Company, and was commissioned as an Ensign.
Upon graduation, he served as the Assistant Operations Officer and Public Affairs Officer at Naval Surface Force Atlantic Readiness Support Group until he was medically retired in 1977.
Jamie earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration with a specialty in Business-Government Relations from George Washington University in 1979 and began his civilian career in 1979 as a systems engineer with General Electric working in classified programs. He continued in that field, holding increasingly responsible positions with Lockheed Martin and the SI Group until his retirement in 2017.
Jamie was active in youth athletics in Northern Virginia as a long serving swimming and soccer coach. He was the Team Representative for the Little Rocky Run Swim Team and served as the Head Coach for Swimming and Diving at Centreville High School. Jamie was the Chairman of the Northern Virginia Senior Olympics Committee from 2014 to 2018. He remained an active competitive swimmer as a member of the Fairfax Masters Swim Team and completed the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim, a fundraiser for the Maryland Chapter of the March of Dimes, four times.
He is survived by his wife of 37 years, the former Elisabeth (Betsy) Rentschler, a career school teacher in Fairfax County, VA; son James and daughter Molly; mother Marian (Betty) MacKenzie of Fairfax, VA; and brother Andrew and sister Stacy.
The family will host a visitation at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Road, Fairfax, VA 22032 on July 23, 2019 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM and from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. A funeral service will be held at the United States Marine Memorial Chapel, 3251 Embry Loop, Quantico, VA 22134 at 10:00 AM on July 24, 2019. Interment with military honors will follow at Quantico National Cemetery.
Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the following:
• The Quantico High School Alumni Scholarship with a check payable to “QHS 1963” mailed to Susan Dutton Woythaler, 19 Baldwin Rd., Middletown, RI 02842
• The United States Naval Academy Swim Team with a check payable to "NAAA" annotated with "Swim Team” in memo line, mailed to NAAA, Terrence McGowan, 566 Brownson Road, Annapolis, MD 21402.
Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home
9902 Braddock Road
Fairfax, VA 22032
Phone: (703) 425-9702
https://www.fairfaxmemorialfuneralhome.com/obituaries/James--Murdock--MacKenzie-?obId=5107433#/obituaryInfo