Obituary of Doug MacAfee
It is with heavy hearts that the family of Douglas Lawrence MacAfee announce his passing at the Sussex Health Centre on November 24, 2024 at the age of 77.
Born in Saint John, NB on February 3, 1947; Doug was the son of the late Lawrence and Doris (Hart) MacAfee.
Doug was many things, an accomplished athlete, businessman, and entrepreneur but that was only part of his story. To say he lived life to the fullest would be an understatement. Smarter than most, and funnier than hell, Doug had the ability to light up a room like few others. At the same time he was humble, generous and fiercely loyal to those he loved.
Doug was a noted athlete, excelling in a number of sports at a young age. He burst on to the provincial golf scene by playing his way on to the Men’s NB/PEI golf team as a teenager, the first and only golfer out of the old Roachville course in Sussex to reach that height. A graduate of Sussex High School he was awarded a hockey scholarship at the University of New Hampshire but returned home and focused his sporting pursuits on golf. Doug would graduate from UNB, become a golf pro, quit golf, travel the world and eventually return home to Sussex and make his mark as a businessman.
Back in Sussex he became the proud owner and operator of legendary watering hole Ollie Mac’s, and was also a co-owner of the Mercantile Block in downtown Sussex. He picked up the golf clubs again, and quickly made another Men’s provincial amateur team. A few decades later he would finally win a provincial title, capturing the Senior Amateur championship. Along the way he filled his trophy case with many other titles, and was deservedly inducted into the Sussex Sports Hall of Fame, an accomplishment that he was proud to share with his father.
To define Doug by his accomplishments in sport or business does not really do him justice though. He was smart, with an almost photographic memory, a voracious reader who soaked up information wherever he could find it. He could finish the hardest crossword puzzle in minutes and played a mean game of bridge. He could debate sports or politics or anything else for hours, (or until the rum ran dry). And he could tell a story like no one else, particularly when regaling his audience with tales of his own adventures and misadventures.
Doug was a true original, happily living his life by his own rules to the very end. For anyone who knew him he will be impossible to forget and sorely missed.
He will live on in the hearts of his sons: Erin MacAfee of Sussex, Morgan Watson and his partner Lisa of BC and Jimmy Watson of BC; his sister, Mary Michaelson (Ron) of Florida; his grandchildren: Sacha and Caleb; as well as several nieces and nephews.
Along with his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, Lorne MacAfee.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Wallace Funeral Home, 34 Sunnyside Drive, Sussex, NB (506-433-1176). A Celebration of Doug’s life will be held from the Sussex Golf and Curling Club on December 15, 2024 from 2-5pm. Golf Attire Optional.
Personal condolences to the family and donations may be made through wallacefuneralhome.com
