William Valentine (Mac) McConnell

William Valentine (Mac) McConnell entered this world on Valentine’s Day in 1922 and left it November , 2022. Surviving him are his 3 children – Mary Machuga (Frank), Glenn McConnell (Linda), and Cathy Murphy (Mike McGowan), 6 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren, and Millie Fryman, his beloved wife, fishing buddy, traveling companion, and later loving caregiver. Mac spent his early years in Emsworth, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1943 with a degree in Forestry and soon began a career in the U.S. Forest Service. Highlights of the first half of his life include his experiences during 30 years of service with the USFS which included postings in Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. He shared these years with his first wife and mother of his children, Lois McConnell Etchols (deceased). Mac thought of his life as a full, rewarding, and happy one. After retiring from the USFS in 1973, Mac completed Masters Degrees in Urban and Regional Planning and in Sociology at FSU. He worked briefly for the Florida Dept. of State before entering the Peace Corps and serving a tour in Chile. Mac played trombone in the Tallahassee Community Band for several decades; there, in the late 1970s, he met Millie, who played in the clarinet section of the same group. They married in 1985. He and Millie (on tenor sax) also played for many years with Tallahassee Swing, where Mac added the role of “boy singer” to his trombone work. Mac continued his professional life as a consultant focusing on the cultivation of timber for use as energy biomass, until the last 4 years of his life. He wrote quite a few articles and essays for publication in related professional journals. Mac and Millie moved to Westminster Oaks Retirement Community in 2011. Mac wished to express his thanks to everyone at WO for all the warm, caring support and assistance he received, to all his doctors who helped keep him alive so long, and very importantly to his care team and others at Big Bend Hospice who enabled him to remain in his home until very recently. There will be no services. Mac donated his body to the Florida Anatomical Board for use by medical students at a Florida university. Donations may be made to the Westminster Oaks Employee Emergency Support Fund, 4449 Meandering Way, Tallahassee, FL, 32308, or to Big Bend Hospice, 723 Mahan Center Blvd, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Todd Wahlquist with Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193, www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the family with their arrangements.

Tributes

William Valentine (Mac) McConnell

February 14, 1922 - November 12, 2022