Captain John W. Mackin, Jr., USN (Retired) passed away on April 13, 2011 at his Kissimmee, FL home surrounded by his loving family. Born in Oneida, NY in 1937, John, an accomplished athlete, was a graduate of the University Of Notre Dame, a campus he loved. After college, he graduated from U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI, and was commissioned in 1960.This began his 31+ year Naval career in which he served his country with distinction at many military installations and ships worldwide.CAPT Mackin served honorably for more than 31 years. He retired from the Navy following his tour as CO, NSGA Homestead in 1991. During his career, he was assigned to DEFSMAC, CINCPACFLT, Ops officer NSGA Homestead, USS OXFORD, (AGTR-1) during Vietnam, COMNAVSECGRU, Army Security Agency, CINCLANTFLT, NCR Taiwan, Senior Navy Exec to DIRNSA, Deputy NSA B-Group, Chief NSA B1, JOCCP Lead, and CO, NSGA Homestead. Throughout his career, he displayed excellence in the field of National Security and Cryptologic operations, but it was also unabiding love of our country, sense of duty and commitment to teamwork that made him the highly respected officer and leader. He advanced to the rank of Captain and retired in 1991 after serving as Commanding Officer, Naval Security Group Activity, Homestead, FL. John then relocated to the Orlando Area, while serving as a Group Vice President for SunTrust Corporation.
John is survived by his wife of 48 years Donna J. Mackin; their three children, John M. (Beth) Mackin, Jill N. (Matthew) D'Amico, Jeffrey N. (Donna) Mackin; nine grandchildren; and his brother James E. Mackin. Services and burial with full military honors will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a date to be determined. Contributions in his memory may be made to Cornerstone Hospice of Osceola County. Arrangements under the direction of Osceola Memory Gardens Funeral Home, 2000 13th Street, St. Cloud, FL. www.osceolamemgds.com for online condolences. 407-957-2511.
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Mackin was born in 1937 in Oneida, N.Y., one of two sons to parents Joyce and John W. Mackin Sr. The family moved to nearby Sherrill, N.Y., where Mackin was a star athlete at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School, from which he graduated in the mid-1950s. He was the quarterback of the school football team and played a number of sports, including baseball and basketball.
He received a degree in business in 1959 at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. At that time, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and completed the Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I.
Shortly after, he was stationed at the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Md. On one evening while he worked there, Mackin and fellow naval officers invited a group of female students from the University of Maryland to a party. That's how he met Donna Oursler.
The couple wed Sept. 8, 1962. A few months later — in January 1963 — they moved to Hawaii, where Mackin would begin working in various places around the globe with his new family in tow. The couple had three children together and lived in Virginia, Taiwan and Homestead as he worked in national security and cryptologic operations.
"I never really knew what he did," said his wife. "He wasn't allowed to share. It was all top secret."
The family embraced the new adventures that came with each move during Mackin's career.
"It was fantastic," said his son John M. Mackin of Castle Rock, Colo.
While in Taiwan, his son learned of Mackin's competitive spirit and athletic prowess when parents competed against their children in a high-school-basketball game.
"My dad proceeded to put 30 points on the board," said his son, John, who later followed in his father's footsteps by working in cryptology operations for the Navy. "He ended up beating us pretty handily."
The military was an essential part of Mackin's life. He worked his way through the ranks to become a Navy captain and served as commanding officer at a base in Homestead.
"There was never a day in his entire military career that he didn't enjoy going to work," Donna Mackin said.
When Mackin retired from the military in 1991, he began a new career with SunTrust Bank while living in Homestead. He first worked as a facilities director for the Miami area before moving up in the company as a group vice president in Orlando.
Mackin and his wife settled in at a golf-course community in Kissimmee when Mackin retired in 2004. He spent the majority of recent years playing regular rounds of golf and serving on the architecture committee for the home association of Kissimmee Bay Country Club, where he lived. Off the golf course, he spent time planning activities and having fun with his wife.
"They would just do everything together," said his son-in-law, Matt D'Amico. "He was an amazing husband. He's tough to compete with."
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