Kathleen "Kathy" Ann Mackey

Kathleen “Kathy” Ann Mackey passed away in Missoula, MT on May 31, 2026, after complications from progressive Bulbar Palsy. Kathy was born in 1955 in Potsdam, to Dorothy and Leo Mackey. She grew up on the banks of the Raquette River in St. Lawrence County, NY, graduating from Colton Pierrepont Central School in 1973. Kathy attended Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.  Soon after, Kathy journeyed west across country until her car broke down in Missoula, MT, where she made a home for the rest of her years.

Kathy worked in the medical field holding various positions at Providence St. Patrick Hospital. Her meaningful work with the HIV Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program at Partnership Health Center earned Kathy state recognition for her service. Kathy was respected and loved by peers, practitioners, and patients alike. She retired from Providence Broadway Internal Medicine clinic where she was the recipient of the Spirit of PMG Award for being an exemplary caregiver. As one colleague stated, “We are all better for knowing her and learning from her. She is truly the best of us.”

Kathy was an avid outdoors enthusiast, keen observer of nature, and felt both the pull of the ocean and the call of the mountains. She could be found camping (preferably boondocking), cross-country skiing, and hiking to collect the perfect rocks and shells for her collection. Kathy loved her birds and her rescue dogs, who often joined her on her adventures. She was an enthusiastic music fan and concert goer, a fan of quirky British mysteries, food cart pods, Strawberry Blizzards, and a very necessary large morning coffee.

Kathy touched those who knew her with her generous, empathetic nature, sense of humor, and curious enthusiasm about the world. Kathy is survived by her brothers David and Duncan Mackey, her Blue-crowned conure Max, her nieces Kimberley Anderson, Michelle Mackey, Jennifer Mackey, Rebecca Mackey, Lara Mackey McCarthy, nephews Shannon Mackey and Shawn Mackey, and her community of friends in Missoula.