J ack Lowell McKinzie of Chowchilla, California, passed from this life May 8, 2024, easing peacefully from 85 years of a life well-lived. He departed from his new home at Meadow Oaks in Roseville, CA.

Jack's life began September 29, 1938, at Mercy Hospital in Merced, CA, the second son of L.D. and Neva McKinzie and no doubt a surprise to his toddler brother Daryl. The two were as close as twins all of his life and they were blessed to live near each other most of those years.

At Abilene Christian College in Abilene, TX, Jack fell in love with Birt LeAnna Seay, the woman who loved, honored, and cherished him, from their marriage June 9, 1960, until her death May 16, 2009. In the 1960s, they welcomed three daughters: Lisa, Laura, and Melanie, who brightened their home and presented all the joys and head-shaking that lively children present their parents. In later years, Jack was fortunate to meet another loving woman, Billie Parker, who shared both his faith and the grief of losing a beloved spouse. Last August, he and our beloved Billie Jean celebrated twelve years of blended families, fun, and travel, most of it coast to coast on a few days' notice.

Throughout his professional life, which began as a conscripted teen in his father's trucking business, he enjoyed careers related to his lifelong fascination with construction, understanding the way things worked, and getting things done. His early adult years with the California Division of Highways were spent working on Interstate 80, the first all-weather, trans-Sierra Nevada highway. In Southern California he then worked with the California Department of Water Resources on stabilizing subsidence in the California Aqueduct delivery of water throughout the state. In the early 1970s, Jack returned to Chowchilla as Manager of the Chowchilla Water District. For the final twenty years before his retirement in 2007, he was a Registered Contractor for Anderson Pump Company in Chowchilla, where they told us he was their "engineer without being an engineer, aka Project Manager." They still have a file cabinet full of his work that includes a $1 million project.

A lifelong Christian and member of the Chowchilla Church of Christ, Jack embodied the New Testament teaching that faith apart from works is dead (James 2:14-17). As practical as he was spiritual, Jack accomplished many things, and the range of his service to others cannot be overstated: numerous people stayed at the McKinzie house when they needed extra assistance, his generosity was well known, and he showed genuine interest in the lives of others. Throughout his many acts of kindness, he was always good-natured, meticulously thoughtful, and fair, and his advice was delivered with booming enthusiasm. He also shared his personal gifts. Jack was always willing to lead singing, share his beautiful tenor with others, and even to delight the therapists when he participated in the Parkinson's "Big and Loud" therapy a few years ago. Music was the language of love in the McKinzie family and this brings much joy to survivors: wife Billie Jean Parker; daughters Lisa McKinzie (Joey Retton) of Chowchilla; Laura and Mark Caffey of Lubbock TX and their girls Madeleine and Emiline; Melanie and Mike Swartz of Great Falls MT and their children Max, Olivia and Jackie; sister Holly McKinzie Beene (Leon Beene) and their children Darren and Janay of Phoenix AZ; brother Leonard Daryl of Fresno, and our extended family. He was predeceased by his wife Birt McKinzie (1939-2009) and his parents L.D. (1914-1967) and Neva McKinzie (1914-1982).

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, (donations@michaeljfox.org) or MJF Foundation, P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, MD 21741.

To honor Jack's memory, we invite you to attend funeral services Saturday, May 18, at 2:00 p.m. at Chowchilla Church of Christ, 701 Trinity Avenue. For an opportunity to see family and reconnect with old friends, our family invites you to a reception with light refreshments to follow at the church annex.