Alistair MacSween
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Alistair (Al) MacSween passed from our presence August 3, 2021, at his home, surrounded by his wife and children. Al was born July 23, 1927, to Hannah (Sneddon) and Joseph MacSween in Quill Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada. He had an older brother, Ian. His parents were homesteading in Canada. At one year of age his family relocated to northern California.
At age 17, Al joined the Merchant Marines, where he served for two years. In 1950 he was drafted into the US Army and served two years in Korea. In 1955 he married Joan Meyer and had a son, Jim, and a daughter, Joyce. Al built their first home in Marla Bay, Nevada, with the help of his father-in-law, Albert. They later moved to a second home in Round Hill, Nevada. Joan died at a young age. Al married Marilyn Mockel and inherited three more children, Kim, Peggy and David Peterson. The family lived in Nevada until relocating to Bozeman in 1974. Al married Virginia (Ginny) Patterson of Billings in 1987 and inherited two more children, Ellis and Jennifer Patterson.
Al worked as a skilled craftsman and owned a masonry business with his brother, Ian, called the MacSween Brothers in Tahoe, Nevada. He owned his own business, MacSween Masonry, in Bozeman, Montana. He was involved in several masonry building and restoration projects until he retired in 1988. After his retirement, he and Ginny worked to restore rental houses around the Bozeman and Billings area.
Al enjoyed restoring old cars, like his treasured 1930s Model A pickup. As a young man, he had several 1940s model Harley Davidsons. He also enjoyed boating with his family. The creating and building never stopped for Al, as he mastered woodworking after his retirement. His beautiful work included candle holders, bowls, and even an extremely detailed pickup and train set. In addition to his hobbies, Al and Ginny loved to travel.
Al loved to talk to everyone and had a wonderful sense of humor. He was known to wish anyone a "Merry Christmas!" any day of the year. When asked by friends how he was, he would reply "I'm by far the greatest". He was also very proud of his Scottish heritage. Alistair was known by many names; father, grandpa, uncle, husband, friend, hard worker, and most of all a kind, positive, supportive and loving man.
Survivors include his wife of 34 years, Ginny; nephew, John MacSween; son, Jim (Sue) MacSween; daughter, Joyce (Scott) Allen; stepchildren, Kim, Peggy, David, Ellis, and Jennifer; sisters-in-law, Carol Blaney and Charlotte O'Dowd; grandchildren, Nicole, Laura, Brittany, Sam, Joel, Brent, Wade, Kyla, Caitlin, Erin, Jonathan, Anna, Lenny, Matthew, and Bailey.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 1PM on Saturday, October 16 at Central Christian Church, 1221 16th Street West. Please share a memory or photo on Al's tribute wall at www.dokkennelson.com. In lieu of flowers, choose a charity of your choice.