Kelly Quinn always looks forward to seeing her friend John “Mac” McKenzie.
That’s because the Aurora man, who turns 87 next month, not only has a smile on his face and a good story to share, he usually has money in hand for Quinn, who is district director of Three Fires Council, Boy Scouts of America.
Monday morning was no exception.
When I met with the pair at Fox Knoll Independent Living Center, which McKenzie has called home since moving from his North Aurora house two years ago, the first thing he did after exchanging greetings was hand over checks for $1,150.
On his own, the retired West Aurora District 129 teacher annually raises between $8,000 and $10,000 for Scouting in the Aurora community, including Troop 11, which McKenzie has been a part of since 1972.
But it’s hardly this proficiency as a fundraiser that makes him so beloved to Quinn and her organization. As far as she knows, McKenzie is the oldest active Scouter in the district and perhaps in the council itself.
Not only has Boy Scouts bestowed plenty of accolades on him, McKenzie’s dedication led to the creation two years ago of the John “Mac” McKenzie Spirit of Scouting Award, which goes to the district volunteer who best reflects the legacy of this man who has given so much to Boy Scouts for so many decades, said Quinn.
McKenzie joined the Cub Scouts as a child at age 9, not long after his mother died. He earned his Eagle rank in April of 1950 and that same year attended the National Jamboree at Valley Forge, where he got to not only see U.S. President Harry Truman but also the man who would follow Truman into the White House, Dwight Eisenhower.
“I was not big enough to play football,” McKenzie told me, “so Scouting became my thing.”
At age 18, McKenzie, still registered as a Scouter, enlisted in the Army and spent a couple years in Germany. By the time he graduated with a degree in education from Illinois State University, he and wife Doris had two small children.
In 1962, the young family moved to Aurora, where he taught seventh and eighth grade math for 31 years, including a decade at Washington Middle School, and continues to substitute for the district.
But devoting his professional career to kids was not enough for McKenzie, who realized the many benefits he received as a Scout and wanted to pass them along.
In 1972 he became Scoutmaster for Troop 11, and has continued to support this troop of 31 boys which meets weekly at Wesley United Methodist Church ever since. McKenzie also has volunteered at the district level, including as summer camp program director and camp director. Known as a mentor for Scout leaders, he’s currently the merit badge counselor for Three Fires Council, which serves nearly 10,000 girls and boys across Kane, Kendall, DuPage, DeKalb and parts of Will and Cook counties.
Even when a serious health crisis landed him in the hospital for a month in 2021, “Mac did not stop helping out,” said Quinn, who visited him after he got out of intensive care.
“We would go over our money list,” she recalled, “and he would make phone calls from the hospital room.”
Quick to recall names, places and stories, no matter what the decade, McKenzie used few words when asked why he has given so much to this organization.
“I like young people to succeed,” said the retired teacher, whose four sons became Eagle Scouts, and who this weekend will introduce into the West Aurora High School Hall of Honor another of his Troop 11 proteges: John A. Becker, a retired Army colonel with a distinguished military career.
“Mac knows everybody and everybody knows Mac,” said Quinn, adding that her friend is all about bringing recognition to others while downplaying his own contributions. That’s one reason he also spends time in the St. Charles office of Three Fires Council, going through volunteer files to make sure those long-serving individuals are acknowledged.
McKenzie has no plans to slow down any time soon. He continues to take part in outdoor Scouting events. Those include a 19-hour train ride in June with 300 Scouts to Philmont Scout Ranch, the organization’s “premier High Adventure base” in New Mexico, where he will stay in a tent and attend training sessions.
“The teacher in him is always there,” insisted Quinn, who is in charge of Kane County’s 87 Scouting units. “He’s always open to learning, to changing.”
The Boy Scouts have indeed undergone change over the years, including the addition of girls, which McKenzie, who also has a daughter, believes should have been allowed long ago.
“I’m old,” he said, “but not old school.”
Losing his wife suddenly in 2019, then a son four months later, were traumatic blows. After rehabbing from his own health scare, “I’m feeling great,” McKenzie said, and has settled in comfortably at Fox Knoll, where he keeps his mind sharp by playing bridge and solitaire, reading newspapers, “paying attention to Facebook” and staying relevant.
For 10 years McKenzie even worked crowd control and other stadium duties for the Chicago Cubs, not because he’s devoted to the team – he’s a die-hard Cardinals fan – but because he loves baseball and being around others.
“Mac takes time to get to know people. He knows their names, their kids, where they work,” said Quinn, who sees him not just as a Scouting volunteer but as the “family member you get to choose.”
McKenzie, she added, lives the Scout Law and Oath every day, “doing what he can to be the best person he can be for others.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
