Mr. Anthony Mack, Sr.

Obituary For Mr. Anthony Mack, Sr.

Mr. Anthony Mack Sr. (Tony)

A Celebration of Life for Mr. Anthony Mack Sr. will be held Saturday, May 11, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at St. John Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 2504 E. Chipco St., Tampa, Rev. Dr. Bartholomew Banks Sr., Pastor with Rev. Eric Gallman, Pastor of Agape Christian Church, Tampa, officiating.

Tony Mack was born precocious, that is he was a child who acted much older than his age. Picture a baby in diapers keeping his younger brother also in diapers- from eating grass as the two sat on a blanket in the yard. His speech as a toddler was no-nonsense and definitely was never baby talk. He spoke his mind which did not sit well with many grown folks, but he never meant to be disrespectful. That was just his way. And that way changed very little over his 66 years. When just 10 years old, he came to Clewiston, Florida to live with his paternal grandfather, Charlie Mack to learn the ins and outs of running his mom-and-pops business in the all black community of Harlem. And learn the business he did from ordering new stock for the shelves to checking out groceries and logging credits items in a ledger, he became an expert. When his parents Theodore R . Mack and Eleanor O. Pope Mack and his siblings joined him in Harlem in the summer of 1963, Tony taught them the ropes of running the retiring Charlie Mack’s small grocery-cafe’-motel business that catered primarily to the seasonal workers in the muck-rich South Florida area of vegetables and sugar cane farms. In the “tweens” years he continued to manage the store, but also ran a newspaper route with his younger brother, Edwin, delivering the Miami Herald, Tampa Tribune, and Palm Beach Post to Harlem residents before school, where he was an honor roll student and played drums in the band. At sixteen, Tony decided to play football at Clewiston High School, and for the first time in his life, he was somewhat a kid. He loved playing football and even though practice greatly interfered with his business chores, he was allowed to play. The playful side of Tony Mack emerged, and it mellowed the supremely serious demeanor of the young man. He graduated Clewiston High in 1970 and attended Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, where he joined the ROTC and Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. ROTC made sense. As a kid, he was fanatical about watching war movies. He blossomed in the brotherhood of the Alphas and made lifelong friends. After graduation FAMU with a Business Degree, Tony fulfilled his obligation of three years in the Army and spent 17 years in the Army Reserve.

In his civilian career, he spent many years in the computer industry, selling to many Tampa and surrounding areas banks their first ATM machines. He married shortly after graduation from FAMU; and had two sons and a daughter from his previous marriage. In the early 90s, he met his loving wife, Veronica (Roni) Conage of Tampa, who cared for him until he passed; they shared twenty-seven years of his life together. Over the years, Tony took on different jobs and acquired a rich knowledge of skills. He worked as a Project Manager for the Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan (THAP). He worked as Security for local companies including Tiffany’s, and worked with security at TIA. When he became ill a few months ago, Tony had been a member of an officiating crew with FHSAA for high school football for 20 years and had also officiated three years of high school basketball and 15 years for the American Athletic Conference for college football. Tony cultivated the image of an insufferable grouch to hide a heart of gold. Those who knew him knew that heart. He didn’t hesitate to fix a neighbor’s window or fly to St. Louis with tools in tow to install outside lighting for his sister. He could also be an irritating know-it-all because he usually was right. He loved good soul music and shared his discovery of little known artists like “Walter Jackson”. He loved his cigars and jawboning at the pipe shop. He enjoyed good food and good times with friends and family. He was a dutiful son and fabulous friend, a devoting father, a god-daddy and grandpa supreme. He was most happy in the last years when he had a car full of “grands” heading to the ice-cream shop on Sundays after church. He as a member of Agape Christian Church and had been a Deacon since March 2016. He served as Chairman of the Deacon Board and a member of the Agape Board of Trustees.

Tony is preceded in death by his parents and older brother, Michael J. Baulkman, Sr. In addition to his wife, Veronica (Roni) Mack, Tony leaves to cherish his memories, his sons--Kevin Johnson-Mack of Tallahassee, Anthony R. Mack Jr., Taureon C. (Nashay) Mack Sr., Jimmie L. Conage, Jr., Bobby L. Conage, all of Tampa; daughters--Taunshae (Jason) Mack-Bryant of Lawrenceville, Ga., Veronda A. Conage and a goddaughter--Kari Knowles,of Tampa; brother--Edwin M. Mack of Ft. Myers, Fla--sisters Carolyn (Jerome) Kingcade of Black Jack, Mo., Dora (Andrew)Lovett of Callahan, Fla; aunt--LaVerne Mack of Tampa, Fla., Lillie Pope of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Thelma Pope of Sanford, Fla., and Alice Pope of Tallahassee, Fla; uncle--Isaac (Patricia) Pope of Tallahassee, Fla. Grandchildren--Johnathan Q. Mack, Jeremiah D. Mack, Tori K. Ny’sha Mack, Taureon C. Mack, Jr., Jimmie Conage III, Yrral J. Brown, Lavarious M. Brown, Yarrell V. Brown. Violet C. Conage, and Vion J. Conage, all of Tampa, Fla., Jason E. Bryant and Spencer A. Bryant, of Lawrence, Ga. Nephews--Michael Baulkman of Beltville, Mo., Wade R. Kingcade of Florissant, MO., Andre Lovett of Jacksonville, Fla., Alex Lovett of Orlando, Fla., Elijah Mack of Tampa, Fla. Nieces--Cynthia Edwina James of Lakeland, Fla., Shanor Mack of Jacksonville, Fla., Kendall Kingcade Powell of Black Jack, Mo., Kesua Baulkman-Frazier of Pensacola, Fla., Michael Baulkman-Summers of Clewiston, Fla.,Clorice Foster of Milton, Fla., and a host of dear cousins, friends, and other relatives.

The Visitation will be held at Agape Christian Church, 4816 North 43rd Street, Friday, May 10th, from 6 to 8 pm. The family and friends are asked to assemble at St. John Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 2504 Chipco Street, Tampa on Saturday, May 11th at 10:45 a.m.