January 28, York received the sad news that Peter Mackey, a beloved mentor and scholar in the community, had died suddenly at the age of 33.
Mackey, a Passy Crescent resident, was in his final year of completing a PhD in critical disability studies.
Oliver Malinowski, third-year history major and neighbour, says Mackey was a great person and an extremely intelligent individual,whose passing is a profound loss for the York community.
A well-respected researcher and teaching assistant at York, Mackey often drew from his own experience with quadriplegia to guide his work.
Mackey was born in Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador. At the age of 17, he was involved in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic.
In a YFile article about Mackey, his father said prior to this incident, Mackey loved skateboarding, cross-country skiing, had a black belt in karate, and was an amazing flute player.
When he realized that these interests would no longer be accessible to him, he did not give up, his father continued, adding that Mackey then became extremely talented at the harmonica and also focused his energy into his school work, completing a bachelor of arts degree at Memorial University in 2005.
Mackey, however, did not stop there.
Following many years of surgery related to his injury, he continued his studies at Memorial University and graduated with a masters of philosophy in humanities.
His father was very proud when he was accepted into the graduate program at York, when he spoke about Mackey’s decision to move to Toronto to join the critical disability studies program.
Individuals who would like to leave condolences can visit the DeMarco Funeral Home website for more information.
With files from YFile.
Devon MacPherson
Contributor
