Obituary of Aubrey Johnson MacNeil

Born June 2, 1937 in Sydney, NS, he was the son of the late Bernard and Loretta (Donovan) MacNeil and loving husband of Maria (Cormier) MacNeil. Aubrey was a very talented auto mechanic by trade. He left Sydney at the age of 18 to live with his uncle Sid in Waltham, Mass., to learn his craft under Uncle Sid’s watchful eye. There he met and fell in love with Maria. Aubrey moved to Marlboro MA. and during that time worked for over a decade for General Motors, During that time, they brought three beautiful children into their married life. Wanting a more traditional way of life for their family, Aubrey and Maria moved to Westmount in Cape Breton Nova Scotia in 1973. After 13 years in Cape Breton, the family returned to Marlboro, Mass., where Aubrey had an opportunity to pursue a partnership with one of his best friends. Aubrey took a position to manage the auto mechanic side of the business. Several years later, when Aubrey’s partner passed away and the business had been sold, he took a position as lead mechanic for a shop in Sudbury Mass. In 2000, at the age of 63, Aubrey retired and Aubrey and Maria decided to move back to Canada where they settled in Sussex. They chose Sussex as their daughter lived there with her husband Cyril and their 2 children Nicole and Jordan. Aubrey loved children and felt that by moving to Sussex it would give them the opportunity to watch their grand kids grow and they did. In Sussex, Aubrey and Maria were very faithful members of St. Francis Xavier Church and Aubrey was a very dedicated and active member of the Knights of Columbus, Council#8213 Aubrey was very generous with his time and his mechanical ability and was in fact, just very giving to people in general. Aubrey was an amazing cook and baker and the family credits his time spent at the Keltic Lodge as a teenager, under a pastry chef, for this talent. His donuts and whoopie pies were fabulous and his peanut butter fudge was out of this world. Through the years, many family dinners were sphere-headed by Aubrey and Maria always had his help in the kitchen. As they were growing up, the kids remember their dad as being the kind of guy who never wasted anything. He saved things, “just in case” and for this reason, always had the right part to fix any problem. He was a tremendous father and grampy who loved his family very dearly and was in return, loved very deeply by them. A lot of the family’s favorite memories were formed by time spent at the cottage in Ingonish. Ingonish was where Aubrey’s mother was from so Aubrey always had a love for the area, he was always his best when he was there . The cottage was known as the “Do Drop Inn” and on many occasions, it was full beyond capacity with friends and neighbors and family. Aubrey was almost affectionately thought of as the “King Pin” of the neighborhood and many wonderful adventures were had. Aubrey MacNeil will be forever loved and never forgotten. On Wednesday, November 16, 2016, Aubrey Johnson MacNeil passed away peacefully at the Sussex Health Centre. Along with his Maria, Aubrey is survived by his son Steven and AnnMarie Bragg of Sydney, NS; daughters Linda and Cyril MacNeil of Sussex and Laurie and Bruce Williams of Sutton, Mass; brothers Andy and Shirley MacNeil and Jimmy MacNeil and Diane, both of Sydney, NS; sisters Marie and Calvin Rafuse, Lynn Tynski, and Anne MacNeil and Kevin, all of Sydney, NS Barbara and Joe Callaghan of Alberton, PEI, Donna and Bob Burgess of Don Mills, ON and Darlene and Mike Mullowney of St. Johns, NF; grandchildren Breton MacNeil and Arden MacNeil of New Jersey, Nicole and Grant Bell of French Village, NB and Jordan MacNeil and Angelia LeBlanc of Waterford, NB; brand new great granddaughter Alexa Maria Bell and several extended family members. In addition to his parents, Aubrey was predeceased by his brother- law Mike Tynski. Arrangements have been entrusted to the compassionate care of Wallace Funeral Home, 34 Sunnyside Drive, Sussex (506-433-1176) A service celebrating Aubrey's life will be held from St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church Saturday, November 19, 2016 at 11 am with a reception to follow at the funeral home. The family would like to extend a special thanks for the extra mural services of Shelly Chown and some very close friend. If you are considering making a memorial donation the family has suggested the Canadian Cancer Society or the charity of the donor’s choice.