Anthony “Tony” Mack of Burnsville, Minnesota passed away peacefully on Saturday afternoon, August 5, 2023 at the Minneapolis Veterans Home, surrounded by his family. Tony has now been completely healed of Parkinson’s Disease by entering Heaven, where there is no longer any suffering.
A Celebration of Life will be held in Tony’s honor on Friday, August 11, 2023 at River Valley Church in Apple Valley (14898 Energy Way) at 11am. A time of gathering will be held an hour prior from 10-11am at the church. Tony will be laid to rest during a private family service at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
Tony was born March 14, 1957 at the Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida to Richard and Connie (Shinabery) Mack. He was the oldest of three children. Growing up, he lived in Chicago, Wisconsin and Michigan, where he graduated from high school. Tony joined the US Army in 1975, where he learned to repair anti-tank missiles at Fort Lewis in Washington State. After discharge from the Army, Tony moved to Minnesota where he enrolled in Travel Agent school. After graduating, he took a job with Northwest Airlines as a reservation sales agent, eventually promoting to international reservation sales agent. It was during this time that he met his wife, Karen, at a church function. They exchanged vows on September 24, 1983 at Berean Baptist Church in Burnsville, Minnesota. Their marriage was blessed with a son, Brian Mack, and they settled in Prior Lake to raise their family. They moved to Spokane, Washington in 1993, where Tony worked as a paratransit driver for Spokane Transit Authority. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2006, Tony and Karen moved back to Minnesota in 2009 so that Tony could receive care at the Mayo Clinic.
When he wasn’t working, Tony enjoyed cooking, baking, anything that involved airplanes, traveling, his dog Charlie, but most of all, Tony adored his two granddaughters, Lily and Grace. At the Minneapolis Veterans Home, Tony was the ringleader in the plot to raid the ice cream from the freezer in his unit. Tony received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior at an early age and exhibited Christ’s love and a servant’s heart to all he met.
Tony will be missed and remembered always by Karen, his wife of almost 40 years; his son, Brian (Sara) Mack; granddaughters, Lily and Grace; his Mom, Connie Mack; his sisters, Pam Mack and Laura (Blaine) Eggum; numerous nieces and nephews and other loving relatives and many dear friends.
He was greeted in Heaven by his Dad, Richard Mack; and many other family members. But best of all, Tony was finally able to see and thank his Savior Jesus Christ face to face.
The family would like to thank the staff at the Minneapolis Veterans Home for the loving, wonderful care they provided Tony for the 18 months that he lived there, and Optage Hospice who helped care for Tony in his final days. In lieu of flowers, any memorials received by the family will be distributed to Optage Hospice, the Minneapolis Veterans Home Family Council, or to Parkinson’s Disease research.
