My Dada tragically passed away

On January 7th 2023, Thomas suffered a fatal heart attack at his home in Pacific Beach. After braving “10” foot waves in what was to be called “The biggest swell of the decade”( I know he would say). Thomas carried his nine foot Larry Mobile surfboard up to his home, and there he spent his final moments in the house which he had built himself, surrounded by and embedded in the community that he had dedicated his life to. We had hope after they revived him that there would be a miracle, but his brain had suffered so much damage from 20 mins of trying to “jump start” him, Ariel( Tom’s daughter) had to pull the plug days after. He was gone when it happened, but the final breath was at 3:27am on Jan 11th.

With Tom’s unexpected passing occuring at the tail end of the viscous struggles he endured over the last four years, the tidying up and securing of his legacy remains incomplete and in disarray. In the aftermath, Tom has left Ariel singularly responsible for all aspects of his estate. There is nothing tidy about this, no structured plan, not so much as some hastily scrawled notes on a cocktail napkin. Tom believed, as many of us did, that he would be with us for years to come, and that there was still time to set matters right. As things stand now, his daughter has had to begin selling Tom’s furniture just to cover the costs of cremation- the least of the financial worries to come, she quit her job the moment we got to the ER in hopes to take care of her papa with no thought of actually losing him forever. But now, she picks up where his mess left off.

Tom's final years were not the golden years which we all hope to enjoy through the last chapters of our lives. Nearly four years of ruthless legal battles with his ex-wife and son saw Tom spending those precious days fighting for his freedom, his home, his family, and his livelihood. The fight came at tremendous mental, emotional, physical, and financial cost for his entire family, and ultimately it claimed his life before he could take the steps to set things right. To say the least- all things around him were slowly decomposing- livelihood, relationships and his household in particular.

Thomas Lee Mackey has been a fixture in Pacific Beach and throughout the San Diego coastal region for over fifty years. Without fail on any given day, one could take the walk down to Law St. Beach and be guaranteed to see Tom’s signature red hat, Larry Mobile longboard equipped with green surf wax, and his ten-thousand megawatt smile. Tom’s capacity to put a smile on everyone's face, his incessant chatter, be it with stranger or neighbor, rang in the ears and echoes hearts of anyone and everyone who visited or lived within this tightly knit community. To many, Thomas was not just the friendly local surfer stretching on the beach. Thomas was a legend. An icon. The personification of the ideals that earned this city the title of “The Greatest City In America”

In this time of devastating loss and great need, we turn to you, to the community of friends, family, neighbors, business associates, groms who have grown into guppies, guppies who have grown in adults and may have benefitted from the advice and help of the smiling man in the red hat on the beach. The legalities and red tape inherent in such a sudden passing come as a ticking time-bomb. We humbly ask for your assistance to secure the means necessary to ensure that Tom’s legacy is not seized by the banks and the state, to be sold to the unfamiliar face of an unknown person who doesn’t know what the green flash looks like from Tourmaline, who never saw that wave take out the pier, who doesn’t know that that damn checkered flag should be twenty yards further south down the beach every summer.

We ask that those of you with the means to contribute help Tom’s daughter Ariel ensure that she does not lose her family home as well as her father. We ask your help in ensuring that the little girl who used to ride the pink penny-board down Beryl St be allowed the chance to remain, as were her fathers wishes, and to watch the next generations of penny-board riders, teach the next group of groms when to and when not to drop in, and keep the spirit of Thomas alive in our community.

We understand that for many of us, times are tough. Any contribution is greatly appreciated in this time of extraordinary need. Tom’s spirit and legacy will be carried on through his daughter, but it is our hope that his kindness, empathy, and generous nature might be carried on through his friends, neighbors, and family now. Please, help us now as we pledge to carry the torch which Tom lit on to future generations.