Stewart ‘Cary’ MacKenzie, 81, lost his home and cherished tools in the Palisades Fire; community support aims to help him rebuild and regain independence
The Asian Real Estate Association of America Foundation donates to Palisades Fire victim Stewart ‘Cary’ MacKenzie
By Barbara Burke
“The Asian Real Estate Association of America Foundation (AREAA) donated a total of $100,000 to the victims of the Altadena and Palisades fires on Oct. 4 at an event with hundreds attending held at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica.” Malibu’s Wailani O’Herlihy, a long-time member of AREAA, said, adding “The idea to do so started with an AREAA luxury event in Serra Retreat, which led to our hearing about Stewart ‘Cary’s losing his home in the Palisades Fire.”
O’Herlihy first heard about Cary from his friend, Sonja Randall. Cary, who has been deaf since he was in his teens, is now 81. Cary lived in Pacific Palisades since 1963. He was married for forty years, and since his wife died eight years ago, he’s been living on his own. He and his wife raised three boys in their Palisades home on Hartzell in the Alphabet streets, according to Randall, who noted that MacKenzie helped his wife raise her two sons and they had a son together.
“Cary had some collectible cars and other valuables that he lost in the fire,” O’Herlihy said. “A couple of years ago, because the insurance premiums kept increasing so much, he stopped paying for insurance.”
Going forward after such an overwhelming loss is a great struggle for MacKenzie , who was once a welder, O’Herlihy noted, adding, “He lost all of his tools and given his age and his handicap, he cannot go get a full-time job. However, he said that using his tools is what he misses the most, and he hopes to use the money to buy some tools so he can try to help others in need.”
Despite enduring such great hardship and facing such daunting challenges, at the ceremony, MacKenzie still brought some cheer. “He showed his gratitude to the Ventura Chapter by wearing Hawaiian attire,” O’Herlihy said. That was his way of saying Mahalo.
Randall gratefully noted that MacKenzie desperately needs the support from AREAA. “Cary is rapidly running out of money and he hasn’t decided what to do next,” she said as she shared a few details about MacKenzie. “I first met Cary in The Rustic Canyon General Store on Kanan Rd. in 2015, when I was managing the store,” Randall explained. “When his wife was dying in the hospital in Santa Monica, unfortunately, Cary was in a motorcycle accident and broke seven bones. Ironically, Cary and his wife were in the same hospital together on different floors, and his wife passed on.”
Just days after the fire, Randall posted on Facebook, noting that MacKenzie is not on social media. “Cary is responsible, reliable, honest — just a really good all-around guy,” she posted. “He’s the best friend to everyone who knows him. Homeless now from the Palisades Fire — out of all this devastation, he remains that strong, responsible, reliable, and honest man, and he’s facing his future just that way.”
Cary’s in need of any and all assistance anyone can provide, O’Herlihy and Randall emphasized. To help him in any way, readers can email Randall at:SonjaRan@yahoo.com.
Publisher’s Note: This article has been updated to correct inaccuracies that appeared in the original version published on Oct. 6.