LIFE SKETCH OF ROBIN ANN THURGOOD MACEY

Robin was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on June 25th, 1945, to parents Chester & Marjorie Thurgood. Her family included her sister Lyndy and brothers Corey and Brian.
Robin lived near Liberty Park when she was very young before her family moved to Yale Avenue where she and her brothers and sister grew up. She had many talents and was an innovative young girl that never lost her desire for making things better than she found them. She was very creative which manifested throughout her whole life. She was a dancer, a choreographer, a scriptwriter, a producer, a party planner and get-it-done-er.
Throughout high school, Robin’s creativity continued. She loved to dance, was a member of dance club and was cast as a dancer in the school play called Finian’s Rainbow. She was active in pep club, studied 3 years of Spanish, and became very proficient in shorthand. She exceled at English and grammar. Just ask any of her kids and grandkids about “me and my friends” or “my friends and I”.
Right out of high school, Robin got a job as a legal secretary and her talents served her well.
In August of 1960, Robin went on her first date with Ken Macey to Lagoon to see Louis Armstrong perform. Ken fell in love that day and knew she was the one he’d marry. Throughout much of high school, they double dated with friends. Ken and Robin dated for 5 years and were married in the Salt Lake Temple on August 27, 1965. They started out in small apartments and rental homes while starting their family and settled in Millcreek where they completed their family of 6 children.
One day, when Ken returned from a business trip, Robin said, “Let me show you what I bought.” She bought two building lots and started design on their new family home in Holladay. She made many life-long friends in the neighborhood and was always a loyal friend that tried to be aware of the needs of those around her and make good things happen for them. Robin was very active in the community, with her family, and in her children’s lives.
She designed and coordinated building an elaborate new playground at Hillview Elementary. She planned and pulled off countless class parties, as well as the school’s annual carnival. She played church softball, was a cub scout leader, planned many successful ward events, like holiday dinners, parties, roadshows, and talent shows. Robin was active in both the Women’s National Grocers Association and in the Utah Women’s Grocery Association, where she served as President. She supported BYU sports and was integral in doing whatever it took to pull off tailgate parties and other functions. She volunteered with the Festival of Trees for over 20 years and it was something she loved doing with the entire family. She supported the Primary Children’s Radiothon for over 30 years and made it her yearly mission to find the perfect plush moose to hand out to the kids in the hospital. She blessed the lives of thousands of kids with her moose of choice.
In 1999, Robin and Ken bought property for a cabin where again, Robin put her creative mind to work designing the perfect family cabin for grandkids and fun. She enjoyed getting all her grandkids together and hosting family events there. She loved each of her grandkids with all her heart and always tried to make an adventure of everything she did with them. From turning wasted space in to the cabin in to the beloved “Black Hole”, or putting a twisty slide in the great room, to counting all the follies that happened on grandkid trips.
When Ken and Robin moved away from Holladay in 2004, they lived at the cabin for two years while searching for a new home closer to all their kids. Robin was a good sport to become a mountain farm girl until they found their home in Draper, where she lived until she returned to her Heavenly Father on November 3, 2021.