RIP Dr. Roy P. Mackal
Posted by: John Kirk on December 16th, 2013
Through the kind auspices of Honorary Life Member Loren Coleman, I heard the news that Dr. Roy P. Mackal has seemingly passed away. Loren advised me that he had reason to believe that Roy had passed away and I joined him in searching for info on Roy’s death. There was an obituary from a Chicago funeral home for a Roy Mackal and from clues contained therein we deduced that it was very likely THE Roy Mackal of Mokele-mbembe fame. Loren has written a tremendous tribute to our dear friend and colleague and we recommend you read it here.
His loss is tremendous and we will always remember Roy’s immense contribution to Cryptozoology. Rest in peace dear friend.
As a tribute to Roy Mackal, I am posting the following link to a video of Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World where Roy and James Powell seek Mokele-mbembe. It is sad that both these gentlemen have now passed on. The Mackal-Powell segment starts at 2.55.
About John Kirk
One of the founders of the BCSCC, John Kirk has enjoyed a varied and exciting career path. Both a print and broadcast journalist, John Kirk has in recent years been at the forefront of much of the BCSCC’s expeditions, investigations and publishing. John has been particularly interested in the phenomenon of unknown aquatic cryptids around the world and is the author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (Key Porter Books, 1998).
In addition to his interest in freshwater cryptids, John has been keenly interested in investigating the possible existence of sasquatch and other bipedal hominids of the world, and in particular, the Yeren of China. John is also chairman of the Crypto Safari organization, which specializes in sending teams of investigators to remote parts of the world to search for animals as yet unidentified by science. John travelled with a Crypto Safari team to Cameroon and northern Republic of Congo to interview witnesses among the Baka pygmies and Bantu bushmen who have sighted a large unknown animal that bears more than a superficial resemblance to a dinosaur.
Since 1996, John Kirk has been editor and publisher of the BCSCC Quarterly which is the flagship publication of the BCSCC. In demand at conferences, seminars, lectures and on television and radio programs, John has spoken all over North America and has appeared in programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TLC, Discovery, CBC, CTV and the BBC.
In his personal life John spends much time studying the histories of Scottish Clans and is himself the president of the Clan Kirk Society. John is also an avid soccer enthusiast and player.
I submitted the original email here on Cryptomundo with the link to the funeral home obituary. I found it while attempting to locate Dr. Mackal to autograph a copy of his book A LIVING DINOSAUR, which I acquired after years of searching. I could not believe there was no coverage about his passing, no complete arrangements in the obituary, and no formal obituaries in Chicago or San Diego. He is a treasure pioneer to the entire cryptozoological community, and challenged everyone to a higher standard of research and ethics – believers and skeptics alike. It’s a shame to accidentally discover his obituary 3 months after his passing, and I know that those who actually knew him well are much more taken aback than I am.
The field of cryptozoology has suffered a great loss. He will not be forgotten.
He caught my attention and soared my imagination with his journeys into Africa. Great man!
“SEEMINGLY” passed away? What is the need for the word, “seemingly”? If you verified his passing, the word “seemingly” is absurd in the extreme. Come on. You can do better than that.
He was an inspiration to me, and the reason I went to the Congo in the first place. The Bantu told me, that when he arrived at the village of Boha he jumped out of his canoe shouting “Where is the Mokele-Membe?!” He was full of energy and enthusiasm.
Rarely do we see such a keen scientific mind so seamlessly joined to an adventurer’s soul, yet this is exactly what Dr. Roy Mackal personified. And to the great fortune of those of us who never had the pleasure to know him personally, he was a damn fine writer to boot, allowing all of to share in his colorful adventures into cryptozoology while keeping us firmly grounded in rational science. That was no mean feat to pull off.
Here’s to Roy!