Obituary

William Francis Mack

Thu, 02/07/2013 - 12:15pm

William Francis Mack, 62, of Thomaston, formerly of Adel, Iowa, died January 27 in Camden.  

He was born in Baltimore, Md., on September 21, 1950, the son of H. Patterson Mack and Nancy Fortner Mack.

Bill was an artist and craftsman at heart, beginning by selling his photographs on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley California in the 1970s. Although he interrupted his artistic career to practice law, he was always planning a return.

When he retired, Bill and his wife moved to Maine, where he installed a woodworking shop and jewelry studio. He began his second career as a wood turner, enamel artist and jewelry maker, photographer, boat designer and boatbuilder. The family’s nickname for him was “the serial hobbyist” so he adopted the name of The Serial Craftsman for his business.

He exhibited his wood turnings and enamels at Art Space Gallery in Rockland in 2011 and 2012. His sculpture, “Counterpoint,” was exhibited at the show “Maine Wood 2012” at the Messler Gallery, Center for Furniture Craftsmanship,  Rockport.

He was an avid fly fisherman. When he wasn’t fishing, he was designing and sketching boats to build.

His favorite spot in the world was the porch at Pat-a-Mac Cottage, Bayville, looking out at Linekin Bay.

Bill attended Deep Springs College, in the high desert of eastern California, where his favorite job was milking the cows. He received his B.A. from Indiana University, and his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

He was a partner in the law firm of Severson and Werson in San Francisco California,  Associate General Counsel at American General Finance, and Senior Vice President and Managing Counsel at Norwest Financial, later Wells Fargo Financial.

He is survived by his wife, Ann Robison; son, Andrew Mack; sisters, Deborah Petro, Kathleen Love and Sandrah Mack; brothers, Charles Mack and Thomas Mack; and nieces and nephews.

No memorial service is planned.  Contributions may be made to Deep Springs College (www.deepsprings.edu).