Roderick Bent MacKenzie
September 12, 1936 – December 9, 2011
Roderick B. MacKenzie, age 75, of Fairfield, passed away on Friday, December 9, 2011. Born in Bridgeport to the late Ronald and Laura MacKenzie, he was a lifelong Fairfield resident. Roderick was a Genealogist at the Fairfield Museum and History Center, as well as the Pequot Library for over thirty years.
Rod graduated from Monson Academy in Massachusetts, Salem College in West Virginia and received a Masters of Social Work from the University of Connecticut. He worked at the Boys Club of America and the Westport Senior Center. He became interested in genealogy and so began his work at the Fairfield Museum for over thirty-two years. During that time, he began a genealogy program at the Pequot Library; he was a member of several genealogy organizations and was a Mason like his father and grandfather before him.
Rod is survived by his loving sister, Laura MacKenzie of Kissimmee, FL and his brother, Kenneth B. MacKenzie and his wife, Kathy of Henderson, NV. Rod “Roddy” “Smoke” is survived also by his cousins, Bob and Sheila Walsh of Huntington, Mal and June MacKenzie of Fairfield, Missy and Mike Cummings of Shelton, Roderick J. MacKenzie of Palo Alto, CA, Diane Walsh Broch of Alameda, CA, Nancy Benedict Becker of Southport, NC, Judy Benedict and Hank Steffins of Southport, NC and Barry and Ann Benedict of Elizabeth, NC.
A graveside service will take place at Oak Lawn Cemetery on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. A reception in his honor will immediately follow at the Fairfield Museum and History Center. The Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home, 50 Reef Rd. in Fairfield Center has been entrusted with the arrangements.
Rod’s wish was for donations to be made to the Fairfield Museum and History Center: 370 Beach Rd., Fairfield, CT 06824 or www.fairfieldhistory.org or to the Pequot Library: 720 Pequot Ave., Southport, CT 06890.
Rod was a one-of-a-kind friend and colleague. He was always friendly and helpful and always had a smile on his face.
He will be missed.
To know him was to love him, and he was a researcher’s dream. I can’t imagine the Fairfield History Center without him. He loved the adventure of the search for whatever information people wanted. He will be missed by friends and researchers alike.
We feel a deep sense of loss. Across many years and many miles from our hometown, Rod was our vital link to the resources of the History Center. With his passing goes an extraordinary level of knowledge, research skill, and willingness to go the extra mile in our historical journeys.
We have known Rod since high school days and last saw him in early September. His warm personal qualities will remain firmly fixed in our memories.
Rod was very definitely a true friend to myself and the Fairfield Historical Society. He will be missed by all!
The entire Fairfield Museum staff and Board are deeply morning the loss of our esteemed and beloved Rod. Always cheerful and unflappable, Rod was passionate about sharing his love of history with everyone. Those fortunate to visit him at the Museum’s library were instantly infected with his sense of wonder and enthusiasm. A dedicated researcher, friend, colleague and inspiration to us all, Rod will be very sorely missed. God speed and fair winds.
The library at the Fairfield Museum and History Center will not be the same without him. Rod was always very helpful to us and a big supporter of our Sun tavern Archaeology project. He was also very helpful in providing the genealogy infomation for this and other projects that we worked on.
To his family, we are sorry for your loss. He was a really nice guy and he will be missed.
Our thoughts are with you during this sad time.
Dear Rod,
I was lucky to have known you. You were kind, warm and good-hearted. You always had a smile and asked for my girls, even when you were not well yourself. Your work made you happy and brought you purpose, and your positive outlook was an inspiration. You will be missed by many; you were one of the good ones.
Rest in peace,
Laura
Fairfield will never be the same without Rod. No one could ever take his place as Keeper of the Portal to the Past at the Fairfield Museum Library. He always loved a mystery, and if he couldn’t find the answer right then and there, he always knew where to begin looking and never, ever gave up. He will always be a vital link in the chain of Fairfield’s history. Fare thee well, Rod–and thank you!
Rod was such a great help to a newly minted librarian/archivist when I started at the Fairfield Historical Society many years ago. I counted him as a friend although we have not seen each other since I moved on in my career. He was one of the nicest and kindest men I knew and was always willing to jump in and help on any kind of question. He will be missed by many.
It was with great regret that I heard of Rod’s passing. His knowledge of local history and the work he did for the historical society and museum was supreme. He always supported our office and Fairfield archaeology as a an important means of understanding the past. He was a great guy to be around and we had some wonderful conversations together. We send out deepest smypathies to the family.
Rod will be missed deeply. He was truly an old family son of Fairfield and his presence and his love and expertise of genealogy and local history had few if any peers. For anybody asking his help, he knew where to find the information and had matchless and canny ways of getting at the most obscure facts. He was a gentleman and it was a privilege for me to know him. My thoughts and concern are for his family and I will attend his memorial service when it is arranged.