Tristan Howard Mackey

Tristan Howard Mackey, age 50 years, passed away at his home in Christiansburg, Virginia, September 9, 2025. He was born June 13, 1975, at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. When he was 2 years old his family moved to Hillsville, Virginia, where Tristan grew up. He was a member of the Hillsville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). He graduated from Carroll County High School in 1993. Later, he attended Lynchburg College and graduated from New River Valley Community College in Dublin, Virginia.

Tristan had a wide range of interests. He worked in roofing construction, as a salesman, cabinet carpenter, hotel clerk and as a driver and dispatcher for the Blacksburg Transit Service. He especially valued working with the paratransit service supporting disabled and special needs riders.

On Christmas Eve, 2017, after 8 years on dialysis due to kidney failure, he received a kidney transplant at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina. This amazing gift allowed him 8 more years to enjoy life.

An avid reader with a cunning and quick wit, he wrote poetry and computer software with equal eloquence. He loved the beauty of the natural world and the people and animals in it, especially his two cats, Emmett and Marty.

He is survived by his father, Charles Mackey of Livermore, California; mother, Victoria Strobl Mackey of Silver Spring, Maryland; brother and sister-in-law, Stuart Mackey & Amber McPherson of Leipzig, Germany; an uncle, aunts, cousins, and a host of other relatives and friends. Tristan was warm hearted and deeply loved by all who knew him. He will be dearly missed.

A graveside interment service for family and friends is planned for Saturday, September 27th, at the Hillsboro Cemetery in Hillsboro, Ohio.

For those who wish to make a gift in Tristan’s memory, here are two charitable organizations (among several) that have been meaningful in his life in the Christiansburg area:

Humane Society of Montgomery County

https://connect.clickandpledge.com/w/Form/eea9adef-bd5d-4578-9665-dfd366e10485 

New River Community Action

https://newrivercommunityaction.org/make-a-difference/donate-now/