Los Gatos

Loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, Mac spent his final days at The Terraces of Los Gatos.

Born in Brownwood, Texas, in 1931, Mac’s pop and mom, Felix and Irene, moved their growing family of seven children to Atherton then to Redwood City, California, where they ran a motel for Mac’s Aunt. As Mac recalled in a letter, “In January 1931, our family came to California in a two-door Model A sedan pulling a two-wheel trailer that our Daddy made out of aModel Taxel and wheels. Jay was the oldest, then June (Felix Jr.), Bob, Betty, Peggy, Polly and I was the youngest at 30-days old.

Larry and Renie were born in California. We were a very large family. When we visited Grandma and Grandpa Schoennauer in Palo Alto, they would say ‘ACH HIMMEL, here comes the tribe!’”

When Mac was eight, they moved to the house at 24th and Williams in San Jose (still there). Here he met his neighbor and life-long friend, Don Weaver. Together, they joined the boy scouts and had many memorable adventures, including camping, setting up a string-and-can phone system between their bedrooms and raising pigeons.

Mac attended San Jose High where he played tennis and football and then San Jose State where he met his future wife, Milly, on a ski-club trip in the Sierras. As Mac recalled, Milly asked him for a light. They started dating, fell in love and were married less than one year later, on March 18, 1951. They started their life together with Mac selling pots and pans door-to-door, expanding to others selling for him. In the early 1950s Don’s father, Ralph Weaver, a developer, approached him to open a real estate office in a building he owned. Mac accepted the challenge and became a real-estate broker, and together with agroup of agents working for him, sold homes in the very desirable and growing Santa Clara Valley.

His brothers, Felix and Jay, were builders and built Mac and Milly’s home on Dry Creek Road in Campbell where they raised their three children from 1952 to 1969. That year they built their dream home next to Mac’s mom on Deer Park Road in the Los Gatos hills. In his real-estate career Mac enjoyed working with people to find their perfect home, later expanding to buying and selling commercial real estate. In the early 1960's, Mac began developing properties with investors. He continued to expand his real-estate portfolio well into his late 70’s and ran these properties with pride and attention to detail.

Mac had seemingly boundless energy, a way with people and an infectious sense of humor. With their young family they camped, backpacked in the Sierras and rode bicycles. On one memorable bicycle trip in 1968 they traveled over 400 miles along scenic highways 1 and 101.

Mac’s mom and pop drove the “sag wagon,” a crew truck fitted with racks in the back for bicycles, delivering the family to the Oregon border. From there they traveled south to Santa Cruz spending nights in campgrounds and on beaches, waking one morning to find the surf lapping at their feet.

He and Milly enjoyed tennis, golf, bridge, bicycle riding, scuba diving and traveled extensively beginning in the ‘70s, including with family, friends and with the Stanford Tennis Team. Along the way they developed many friendships at home and on their travels. Mac supported his alma mater of San Jose State and gave extensively, especially to the sports program.

Together in adventure and life, Mac and Milly embraced every moment with passion and love. They shared success, an unwavering dedication to family and created a legacy of inspiration and joy. Forever cherished, together forever, may their adventures continue among the stars.

Mac is survived by his children, Peggy, Mac and Chris, and their spouses, as well as seven grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Predeceased by his wife Mildred (Milly) and six of his eight siblings.

In lieu of flowers please donate to The Spartan Foundation Scholarship Fund at San Jose State University (sjsu.edu/giving) or The Cancer Discovery Fund at Stanford University (makeagift.stanford.edu).