Lake Bluff Obituary: William "Mac" McMillan Reynolds, 85

The following obituary is courtesy of Wenban Funeral Home.

William “Mac” McMillan Reynolds, 85, of Lake Bluff and formerly of Bannockburn, passed away on December 31, 2014. He was born April 4, 1929, the son of Margaret M. and F. George Reynolds of Lake Forest.
Mr. Reynolds began his education at Lake Forest’s Gorton Elementary School and Lake Forest Academy. After graduating from Brown University in 1952, he served as an officer in the U.S. Army during the Korean war.

Mac worked for over 25 years in industrial real estate in Chicago.

An avid fan of traditional jazz, Mac played the banjo for decades with several Chicago-area jazz groups. He also recorded with several trad bands- the Chicago Hot Six, the Riverboat Rascals of Milwaukee, the Bald Eagles Jazz Band of which he was a founding member, and also with the Red Rose Ragtime Band, in which his wife, Joan, was the pianist. For over twenty years he was banjoist with the popular Samuel Dent Memorial Jazz Band of Lake Forest.
Mac was an expert in the restoration of pre-war MG automobiles, and received many awards at antique car shows. He was a long time active member of the Vintage MG Car Club of Chicago and of the Vintage Sports Car Club of Chicago.

Always interested in amateur radio, Mac earned his radio operator’s license as a young teenager and pursued this interest throughout his life. He was part of several HAM radio operator teams, participating in several excursions to remote or uninhabited islands such as Malpelo Island and San Andreas in South America to set up amateur radio contacts.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Joan S. Reynolds; his children: Bruce H. (Didi) Reynolds, Margaret M. Reynolds, Nancy (Chuck) Hoppe, and Blair Sheldon; Dexter (Celeste Teters) Gauntlett; grandchildren John, Tom, Will and Olivia Reynolds, CJ (Cody Blades) and Katy Hoppe, and Hunter, Cole, and Wesley Sheldon; Gus, and Dexter (Amber) Gauntlett; and great-grandchildren Cyrus and Greta Gauntlett. He is the brother of Frank Reynolds and the late Anne Kennedy and Felicite Reynolds.
Visitation will be at 2:00 p.m. with the memorial service at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at Wenban Funeral Home, 320 Vine Avenue, Lake Forest, IL. Info: 847-234-0022 or www.wenfanfh.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois, Lake Forest, IL 60045, Trinity Lutheran Church, Washington Island, WI,54246 or the charity of your choice.

Interment will be private at Lake Forest Cemetery.