On Saturday, I learned that Marcia MacKenzie had just died. Her death was peaceful and she had her loving family with her but she died far too early. She had so much to give and do.
This is not the official Madison Audubon reflection on her life and contribution to birds, conservation, and the organization. Nor is it an obituary. Marcia had far too full, complex, and worthwhile life for me to capture it. I need to thank Marcia for some of the great good she did.
I met Marcia when she became Corporation Counsel for Dane County. That's an extraordinarily difficult job. The Corporation Counsel provides legal advice to the elected leaders and senior managers of the County and handles its litigation. She supervised a staff of attorneys with varied and important responsibilities. For example, that office provides key legal protection to some children in desperate need. Marcia was a superb administrator and a first class lawyer and litigator. She personally won a key and difficult case in the federal court of appeals that established the County's ability to limit or stop the use of some phosphorus-containing fertilizers.
Marcia loved birds, flowers, and the natural world. Her home was a beautiful sanctuary for birds, bugs and flowers. Honestly, I don't know if she was a great birder. She was a wonderful conservationist. Maybe genetics had a part in that. Her grandfather, of whom she was quite proud, was the MacKenzie of the MacKenzie Environmental Center in Poynette.
Marcia (green hat left of sign) stands by the MacKenzie Overlook, dedicated in her honor in November 2022 at Faville Grove Sanctuary. With her were members of her family, Madison Audubon staff, and longtime Faville Grove Sanctuary volunteers and friends. Photo by Brenna Marsicek / Madison Audubon
She offered me the chance to become part of Madison Audubon, which changed my life for the better. Part of Goose Pond Sanctuary exists because of her generous donation and she was a stalwart champion of Faville Grove Sanctuary. She was a dedicated and passionate Board Member and, more than any of us, sought innovative and effective ways to improve Madison Audubon’s fund-raising and fiscal health. She was a tireless advocate for Madison Audubon with the message that joining the org would be fun, informative, and a great help to our local natural world. Right on all counts, Marcia.
She met all the challenges of her life head on and resolutely. So too with the cancer that stopped her life. But it did not claim her life. She was active with family and friends and found new adventures right to the end.
Marcia (center) with Madison Audubon staff Becky Abel (left) and Matt Reetz (right), visiting a soon-to-be-new Madison Audubon sanctuary, just a month before her passing. Photo provided by Becky Abel
Jeez, Marcia buzzed with energy, purpose, good works, and joy. I don't know what Marcia's favorite animal was. Right now, I think of her as a Queen Bee. She was the center and benefactor of many lives and leaves the world and us much better.
Marcia, my thanks.
Topf Wells, Madison Audubon advocacy committee
