Roots in St. Francisville
I picture a young boy in the cotton fields of rural Louisiana, hands raw, sun unrelenting, the horizon wide with possibility and peril. That boy was Willie Mackie Sr., affectionately called Flash, born around 1940 in St. Francisville to Ledel Mackie Sr. and Nellie Rayford Mackie. Sharecropping shaped his days and his worldview. The eighth grade was as far as school went for him, not out of a lack of curiosity but because life demanded work. The fields did not wait, and neither did poverty.
He left St. Francisville as a teenager, alongside his brother James, chasing a city’s promise. New Orleans welcomed them with blistering roofs and hard lessons. They learned to lift their eyes above the shingles and see opportunity in the heat. The city would become their workshop, their classroom, and eventually the backdrop to a family story defined by sweat and resilience.
Building Mackie Roofing
There is a singular kind of courage in climbing a roof after a storm. In 1965, following Hurricane Betsy, Willie and James founded Mackie Roofing. They started with their hands and a truck, then turned that start into a business that rose among New Orleans leaders by the 1970s and 1980s. A Broadmoor warehouse on Erato Street became the hub where roofing met wholesale supply, where orders stacked high and family members learned the trade.
I imagine Willie and James side by side, callused palms counting nails as precisely as any accountant might count bills. The rhythm of their work became the rhythm of the family. Kids spent summers learning what grit feels like under the fingernails. Willie believed skill was a form of inheritance, and his children understood that climbing a ladder was both literal and figurative.
Love, Loss, and a Wide-Open Household
Willie’s personal life held both tenderness and loss. He married Martha Gordon, the mother of his children, in the early 1960s. Their home was modest, a place where practical learning overshadowed textbooks. Even so, it brimmed with aspiration. After Martha passed, Willie married Linda E. Mackie. Both women predeceased him, leaving him to anchor a family with steady hands and a work ethic that translated into opportunities.
He raised seven children. The eldest, Willie Jr., would blaze his own trail in hospitality. Calvin would turn the rigors of a roof into engineering ingenuity and community leadership. Anthony, the youngest, would bring that same work ethic to the performing arts and beyond. The daughters navigated life beyond the spotlight, each contributing to the family’s strength and reach, knit tight by shared values and the memory of a father who showed them what effort can yield.
The Seven Children: Paths Forged From a Single Workbench
The children’s paths read like branches of the same sturdy oak.
Linda M. Johnson, rooted in Harvey, Louisiana, stands as the eldest daughter who sustained the connective tissue of a growing, entrepreneurial clan. Her public profile remains intentionally quiet, a reminder that legacy is often maintained by those who prefer to build away from the camera.
Maryane Holland settled in Maumee, Ohio, carrying New Orleans traditions into a different landscape. From afar, she stayed bound to the family’s center of gravity.
Nellie M. Williams, named for her grandmother, represents a living link to the matriarch who labored in fields so her descendants could labor in boardrooms, labs, and studios.
Valencia Dunn moved to Houston, a city of big hearts and bigger horizons, keeping family ties alive across state lines.
Willie Mackie Jr., born November 21, 1963, took the stamina learned on roofs and poured it into hospitality. After Warren Easton High School, where he served as class president in 1982, he earned a degree in Criminal Law and studied legal courses before veering into restaurants and nightlife. He owns The Page, a beloved LGBTQ+ nightclub on Rampart Street, where he transformed operations, grew revenue, and built a space that celebrates community. He married Bobby Wagstaff in 2007 after meeting in 2002, and their lives are filled with Carnival krewes, woodworking, and a small pack of cherished dogs. Willie Jr. has become a fixture of inclusivity and leadership in the city, carrying forward his father’s insistence that every enterprise should serve people as well as profit.
Calvin Mackie, born in the late 1960s, turned summer shifts on roofs into a career steeped in science and service. With degrees spanning mathematics to mechanical engineering, culminating in a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, he taught at Tulane and focused on energy and innovation. He went on to found STEM NOLA, a movement that has engaged tens of thousands of young people, paid college instructors to teach and mentor, and helped widen the pipeline for Black and Brown students in science and engineering. He co-founded motivational ventures, earned major mentoring awards, and served on the Louisiana Recovery Authority after Hurricane Katrina. His work echoes his father’s ethic: lift others, and build strong structures that last.
Anthony Mackie, born September 23, 1978, took discipline and humility to the stage and screen. From the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts to Juilliard, he sharpened his craft until it resonated globally. In roles that redefined heroism, he has often credited his father’s example for his own resolve. Anthony worked summers on roofs, learning the value of showing up and finishing the job. That training was as vital to him as any acting class. He is a father of four and remains linked to his hometown’s heartbeat.
Siblings and the Wider Clan
Willie grew up within a large and industrious family: brothers Bennett, Lawrence Sr., Ledel Jr., James Earl Sr., and the late Major Sr.; sisters Rosemary, Virginia, Elvina, Nancy Hayes, Doretha Turner, Mattie Cummings, Florida Mae Mercadel, and the late Bertha M. Berry. In New Orleans, the bond with James was central. Together, they welded survival to entrepreneurship. The family’s entrepreneurial tree includes the next generation. Nephew Earl Mackie, James’s son, helped carry construction forward through ventures like Mackie One Construction and broader hospitality and retail efforts. The clan’s activity sprawls across krewes, kitchens, and classrooms, a testament to the idea that talent multiplies inside communities that value effort and trust.
Katrina, Recovery, and a Legacy of Resilience
The floodwaters of 2005 tested everything. Broadmoor filled with water, and businesses faced wreckage. Willie saw yet another storm in a lifetime of storms. Calvin stepped into statewide recovery efforts, advising on the Louisiana Recovery Authority and speaking widely about rebuilding with equity and science in mind. The family repaired and reimagined, sometimes through relatives’ enterprises, sometimes with new ventures that honored the past while adapting to the future.
Willie died on March 28, 2006. His funeral gathered a city’s gratitude and a family’s grief. He was buried at Providence Memorial Park, leaving behind children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who viewed rooflines not as limits but as platforms to stand upon. In the years since, his name appears most often through tributes from his sons and the continuing hum of family businesses and nonprofits.
Timeline Highlights
- Around 1940: Born in St. Francisville, Louisiana
- Early teens: Leaves school after eighth grade and works in cotton fields
- Late 1950s: Moves to New Orleans with brother James
- Early 1960s: Marries Martha Gordon
- 1963: Birth of Willie Jr.
- 1965: Co-founds Mackie Roofing following Hurricane Betsy
- Late 1960s: Birth of Calvin
- 1978: Birth of Anthony
- 1970s to 1980s: Mackie Roofing expands into wholesale construction supplies
- 2005: Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans and impacts the business
- March 28, 2006: Willie passes away
FAQ
Who was Willie Mackie Sr.?
Willie Mackie Sr. was a self-made entrepreneur from St. Francisville who co-founded a leading roofing company in New Orleans. He left school in the eighth grade to work in the fields, later moving to the city where he built a business and a legacy that shaped his children’s lives.
Why was he called Flash?
Family and friends used the nickname Flash to describe his energy and quickness. It fits the image of a man who moved decisively, on rooftops and in life, turning effort into momentum.
How many children did he have?
He had seven children: Linda M. Johnson, Maryane Holland, Nellie M. Williams, Valencia Dunn, Willie Mackie Jr., Calvin Mackie, and Anthony Mackie.
What happened to Mackie Roofing?
Mackie Roofing grew through the 1970s and 1980s, incorporating wholesale supplies from a Broadmoor warehouse. It endured storms and market shifts. After Katrina, operations faced significant challenges, and family members continued construction and related enterprises through allied ventures.
How did his life influence Calvin and Anthony?
Calvin learned discipline, problem solving, and community obligation from summers spent working in the family business. Those lessons became the foundation for his STEM advocacy and public service. Anthony learned persistence, humility, and the importance of showing up. The work ethic he carried from the roofs of New Orleans supported him through his growth as an actor.
Did he have notable controversies or public scandals?
No. Records and family accounts describe a quiet, determined life focused on work, family, and community impact.
Where and when did he pass away?
He died on March 28, 2006, with services held in Marrero, Louisiana, and burial at Providence Memorial Park.
What is known about his siblings and extended family?
Willie came from a large family with brothers and sisters who kept strong ties. His brother James co-founded the roofing business. The extended family remains active in construction, hospitality, and community ventures, with leadership carried forward by nephews and cousins.
Are there public estimates of his net worth?
No reliable public estimates exist. He was a private businessman whose achievements are best measured by the companies he built, the people he employed, and the generational opportunities he helped create.
