Picture a young boy in the cotton fields of rural Louisiana, with hands raw and the sun beating down. That boy was Willie Mackie Sr., affectionately called Flash, born around 1940 in St. Francisville to Ledel Mackie Sr. and Nellie Rayford Mackie. Sharecropping filled his days and shaped his worldview, and poverty was never far away. He stopped after eighth grade, not for lack of curiosity, but because work in the fields could not wait
and school had to come second. Still, he looked out at the horizon and saw the possibility of sitting right next to peril. As a teenager, he left with his brother James, chasing the promise of a city. New Orleans met them with heat, roofs and shingles, and plenty of sweat. Those hard lessons taught them to look up and see opportunity. The city became their workshop and classroom, and the backdrop to a family story built on resilience.
Willie Mackie and the Start of Mackie Roofing
It takes courage to climb a roof right after a storm, and that is where this story starts. In 1965, after Hurricane Betsy, Willie and James founded Mackie Roofing with little more than their hands and a truck. They worked side by side, with callused palms, counting nails as carefully as any accountant counts bills. That steady rhythm of work became the family’s heartbeat.
By the 1970s and 1980s, the business had grown enough to stand among New Orleans leaders. A warehouse on Erato Street in Broadmoor became the hub where roofing met wholesale supply, where orders stacked up and family members learned the trade. The kids spent summers there, finding out what grit feels like under the fingernails. Willie believed skill was an inheritance, so his children grew up knowing that a ladder is both literal and figurative.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Willie Mackie Sr. |
| Nickname | Flash |
| Born | Around 1940, St. Francisville, Louisiana |
| Parents | Ledel Mackie Sr. and Nellie Rayford Mackie |
| Education | Left school after eighth grade |
| Early work | Sharecropping in the cotton fields |
| Moved to | New Orleans, as a teenager, with his brother James |
| Business | Co-founded Mackie Roofing in 1965 with James, after Hurricane Betsy |
| Business base | Warehouse on Erato Street in Broadmoor, combining roofing and wholesale supply |
| Spouses | Martha Gordon (early 1960s), then Linda E. Mackie |
| Children | Seven, including Willie Jr., Calvin, Anthony, Linda M. Johnson, Maryane Holland, Nellie M. Williams, and Valencia Dunn |
| Siblings | Large family, including brothers Bennett, Lawrence Sr., Ledel Jr., James Earl Sr., and the late Major Sr., and eight sisters |
| Died | March 28, 2006 |
| Buried | Providence Memorial Park |
| Known for | Building a New Orleans roofing business and raising a family of leaders in business, science, and the arts |
Love, Loss, and a Wide-Open Household
Willie’s personal life held plenty of tenderness and plenty of loss. In the early 1960s he married Martha Gordon, the mother of his children, and their home was modest, a place where practical learning counted for more than textbooks, yet it was full of aspiration. After Martha passed, Willie married Linda E. Mackie. Both women predeceased him, which left him to anchor the family with steady hands and a work ethic that opened up opportunities. He raised seven children.
The eldest, Willie Jr., would blaze his own trail in hospitality. Calvin took the rigors of a roof and turned them into engineering ingenuity and community leadership. Anthony, the youngest, carried that same drive into the performing arts. The daughters lived life away from the spotlight, yet each added to the family’s strength and reach. What tied them together were 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 grew like branches of one sturdy oak. Linda M. Johnson, rooted in Harvey, Louisiana, is the eldest daughter who held the entrepreneurial clan together, and she keeps a quiet profile, away from the camera, which says a lot about how a legacy really gets kept. Maryane Holland settled in Maumee, Ohio, and brought New Orleans traditions into a new landscape.
Even afar, she stayed tied to the family’s center of gravity. Nellie M. Williams carries the name of her grandmother, the matriarch who worked the fields so her descendants could work in boardrooms, labs, and studios. She is a living link between those worlds. Valencia Dunn moved to Houston, a city with big hearts and wide horizons, and she keeps family ties strong across state lines.
Willie Mackie Jr., born November 21, 1963, took the stamina he built on roofs into hospitality. At Warren Easton High School he was class president in 1982. He earned a degree in Criminal Law and took legal courses, then turned toward restaurants and nightlife. Today he owns The Page, an LGBTQ+ nightclub on Rampart Street, where he changed the operations, grew the revenue,
and built a space that celebrates community. He met Bobby Wagstaff in 2002 and married him in 2007. Their life includes Carnival krewes, woodworking, and a few dogs. He has become a fixture of inclusivity and leadership, and he transformed his father’s insistence that every enterprise should serve people as well as make a profit. Before meeting his husband, he was already finding his way in that world.
Calvin Mackie, born in the late 1960s, turned summer shifts on roofs into a career in science and service. His degrees run from mathematics to mechanical engineering, ending with a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech. He taught at Tulane and focused on energy and innovation. He then started STEM NOLA, a movement that has reached tens of thousands of young people, paid college instructors to teach and mentor,
and widened the pipeline for Black and Brown students in engineering. He also helped build motivational ventures, won mentoring awards, and served on the Louisiana Recovery Authority after Hurricane Katrina. His ethic is simple: build structures that last. Anthony Mackie, born September 23, 1978, brought discipline and humility to the stage and screen. He went from the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts to Juilliard
and sharpened his craft until it resonated globally. In roles that redefined heroism, he often credited his father’s example for his resolve. He worked summers on roofs, learning the value of showing up and finishing the job, and that training mattered as much as any acting class. He is a father of four and stays close to his hometown’s heartbeat, and he worked hard to keep it that way.
Siblings and the Wider Clan
Willie grew up in a large family that was industrious from the start. He had brothers named Bennett, Lawrence Sr., Ledel Jr., James Earl Sr., and the late Major Sr., plus sisters named 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, and together they welded survival to entrepreneurship.
That drive shows up in the entrepreneurial tree and its next generation. His nephew, Earl Mackie, James’s son, helped carry forward the construction side through ventures like Mackie One Construction, along with 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, and that kind of family is hard to beat.
Conclusion
The floodwaters of 2005 tested everything. Broadmoor filled with water, businesses faced wreckage, and Willie saw yet another storm in a lifetime of them. Calvin stepped in to help with statewide recovery efforts, advising the Louisiana Recovery Authority and speaking widely about rebuilding with equity and science in mind. The family repaired and reimagined, sometimes through relatives’ enterprises
and sometimes with new ventures that honored the past while adapting to the future. Willie died on March 28, 2006. His funeral brought together a city’s gratitude and a family’s grief, and 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 on. In the years since, his name shows up most often in tributes from his sons and in the continuing hum of family businesses and nonprofits.
Willie Mackie FAQs
Who was Willie Mackie Sr.?
He was a Louisiana-born businessman, nicknamed Flash, who co-founded Mackie Roofing in New Orleans.
Where and when was he born?
He was born around 1940 in St. Francisville, Louisiana, to Ledel Mackie Sr. and Nellie Rayford Mackie.
Why did he leave school after eighth grade?
His family worked as sharecroppers, and the fields needed hands more than the classroom did. It was about work, not a lack of curiosity.
How did he end up in New Orleans?
He moved there as a teenager with his brother James, looking for better opportunities than rural life offered.
What is Mackie Roofing?
It is the roofing business Willie and James started in 1965 after Hurricane Betsy. They began with their hands and a truck. By the 1970s and 1980s, it was a respected name in New Orleans business. Their Broadmoor warehouse on Erato Street combined roofing work with wholesale supply, and family members learned the trade there.
Who was Willie married to?
He first married Martha Gordon in the early 1960s. After she passed, he married Linda E. Mackie. Both women died before him.
How many children did he have, and what did they do?
He raised seven children. Linda M. Johnson, Maryane Holland, Nellie M. Williams, and Valencia Dunn are his daughters. Willie Jr. owns The Page, a nightclub on Rampart Street. Calvin founded STEM NOLA and worked on Louisiana’s recovery after Hurricane Katrina. Anthony is an actor who trained at Juilliard.
Did the children work in the family business?
Yes. Several of them spent their summers on roofs, and Calvin and Anthony have both said those summers taught them discipline and the value of finishing a job.
How did Hurricane Katrina affect the family?
Broadmoor flooded in 2005, and local businesses took heavy damage. The family repaired and rebuilt, sometimes through relatives’ companies and sometimes with new ventures.
When did Willie Mackie die?
He died on March 28, 2006, and was buried at Providence Memorial Park. He left behind children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Who else in the family carries on the business legacy?
His nephew Earl Mackie, James’s son, has helped carry construction forward through ventures like Mackie One Construction, along with hospitality and retail work.
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