Mr. Matthew Connell MacKenzie

Matthew Connell MacKenzie, 79, of Oshawa, Ontario, passed away peacefully with his wife by his side on November 22, 2016, at Lakeridge Health Oshawa. No ceremony will be held at this time. A celebration of Matt’s life will be held in the new year on a date to be announced. Matt was born in Glasgow, Scotland on February 18, 1937. He began his lifelong career as a painter in Scotland, England and Wales, before joining family members in Toronto in the mid-sixties. In 1970 he moved to Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories (now Iqaluit, Nunavut), where he lived until 1985. In 1972 he met his future wife, Monica Connolly, in Iqaluit: they were married in Cobourg, Ontario, on July 29, 1983. In 1985, the couple moved to Ontario, where they eventually settled with Monica’s mother in her childhood home in Oshawa. Matt gradually retired from his painting career in his seventies, but continued as an artist until his final illness. Matt loved the Arctic and its people. He was an avid outdoorsman and frequently took part in snowmobile trips on the land and sea ice in winter and hiking, camping and fishing activities in the summer. He resumed a former interest in painting pictures, and became an ardent landscape artist, concentrating on scenes from Baffin Island and the Highlands of Scotland. In both career and avocation he became known for an excellent sense of colour. In addition to artistry and outdoor life, Matt was deeply interested in music and film, and read extensively on history and art. He was always a dog lover, and owned an Old English Sheepdog, a Scottie, and several Bouviers in his adult life. Matt is survived by his wife, Monica Connolly, his brother, Joseph (late Catherine) MacKenzie of Toronto, sisters Elizabeth Cairney and Marilyn (late David) McDonald of East Kilbride, Scotland, and Jeannette (Michael) Adams of Downham Market, England, sister-in-law Sheila (late Alexander) MacKenzie of Mississauga, Ontario, brother-in-law Michael (Joanne Beatson) Connolly of Sydenham, Ontario, his beloved nieces and nephews and their families, and many other relatives and friends. Matt was predeceased by his parents, Alexander and Elizabeth MacKenzie and an infant brother, Donald, all of Glasgow, Scotland, brother Alexander (Sheila) MacKenzie of Streetsville, Ontario, sister-in-law Catherine (Joseph) Higgins MacKenzie of Toronto, and mother-in-law Marjorie (late Leo) Connolly of Oshawa. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to Odette Cancer Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue,Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, or a charity of your choice. The family of Matthew Connell MacKenzie wishes to thank Dr. Farhad Pirouzmand and Dr. May Tsao of Sunnybrook Hospital and the excellent nursing staff on C6, Lakeridge Health Oshawa.