Sjon T. Mackey

Sjon Tori Mackey born on March 18th, 1978 was born to parents "Sonny" Elden Gilbert Mackey II and Chona Marie Mackey in Tacoma, WA. Elden Gilbert II passed away on October 13th, 2010. Sjon is survived by his mother Chona Marie Mackey, his sister Sjenna Lynn Mackey, his two daughters; Jenna M. Phillips, Chona June Mackey, His sisters children (his niece and nephews) Teagan Marie Mackey, Terrace Brian White Jr. and Tyreece Elden White. His grandchildren (Jenna Phillips) Aubrie, Cohen, Selena Phillips and (Chona J Mackey) Ava Steinkraus.Sjon's father spent many years working with the Banks so he lived in many states. Washington, Idaho, Arizona and Oregon. Elden's mother, Valerie Mackey spent most of Sjon's younger years teaching dance lessons and holding evening dances at local dance halls in the early 70's to late 80's. This is where Sjon learned how to tap dance, folk dance, clogging, and (loved to watch and assist) with her belly dances.Sjon spent his years from age 11 to 17 playing soccer through the schools he attended. When he wasn't babysitting his sister, he spent his off time with family and friends. He enjoyed being active, meeting new people, keeping a collection of new and old shoes that he took pride in cleaning and refurbishing. This collection included sweatshirts and hats. He also enjoyed movies and music. Music is what he would turn to depending on the emotion he was feeling to help him work through his thoughts. Sjon also loved driving, he would often make an excuse to go do anything and everything just so he could be behind the wheel of a car. Some of his memorable vehicles were; 1991 green Nissan Datsun, 1998 all black Volkswagen Jetta, 1987 60 special Cadillac Broughman all black, 1999 Mercedes SL drop top all black, 1980's K5 Blazer lifted dark blue.Sjon graduated Centennial High School in Idaho and attended Clark Community College in Vancouver, WA with hopes of opening a company like Cascade Recovery Inc. After our father left the Banking Industry, he started a Repossession Agency called Cascade Recovery Inc. that the family worked at. Sjon excelled in skip tracing, collecting vehicle payments that were behind to prevent repossession, and fell in love with the repossession part of the process. The repossession part gave him his adrenaline.At age 16, Sjon was officially diagnosed with Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy and suffered from 3 different types of seizures. This type of Epilepsy has an onset at puberty and lasts the entire lifetime of the person with the progression of aggression of the seizures. This ultimately led to the Centennial High School soccer team dropping him from the sport, and altering his looks as his teeth would break and other damage to his body from the falls. This altered his confidence greatly. Eventually he started to have trouble with employment because of the medication changes or level adjustment and memory issues and accomodations needed from the job. When Elden Mackey opened up Cascade Recovery, Sjon realized his father was creating a pathway for him to have his own area of employment to succeed in. When Elden Mackey passed away, and the company was sold, a domino effect took place, the family split up, he lost the ability to see his kids, was unable to hold employment, and had no housing. This was a major problem that no one was able to see or even help him fix. He already was dealing with losing the dream of being apart of pro soccer team, felt like a failure for his family at not being employable, lost confidence in the way he looked to others and the ability to care for himself because of the seizures, then started working hard and building it all back up while he was successful at the position he held with Eldens company Cascade Recovery Inc. So when Elden died, he lost that success, He tried to regain it again by attempting to step up to the plate to be the rock Chona Mackey needed, in order to keep her house and the company. When he wasn't able to fulfill that, and was left to deal with homelessness, his disease, and no help of an employer understanding and willing to accommodate his needs at work, and then unable to be a father after 7 consistent years, his life swallowed him up and turned the lights out and left him in the dark, he spent over 10 years trying to find his way out of. In 2023, Sjon was introduced to Governor Jay Inslee. Here is where Sjon was given a moment of feeling proud of himself, speaking on behalf of the homeless community, what needs are and aren't being met by programs, and just how much no having a home to go to and living on the streets brings into a person's life that they normally wouldn't engage in. Governor Jay Inslee was so impressed with Sjon, that he was invited to the State Capitol to relay the same speech he gave Mr. Inslee to a much larger and just as important crowd of people. It was this moment when Sjon, finally got to feel the moment he spent his whole life trying to obtain, of knowing he made his dad Elden Mackey proud, proud of his son for conducting business in a professional, calm, intelligent manner that has the potential to create some huge changes for people in need. This same year, Sjon and his sister gave one more go at applying for SSDI, but was denied and denied for housing due to the $178,000 child support debt that was in the arrears, because when Elden died, someone informed the state they never received any payments from Sjon. When Elden died, so did the agreement between two people and monthly payments. Sjon and Sjenna decided to reach out to Governor Inslee about Sjon's life and what he was experiencing, being given the chance to live at the OutPost and off the streets waiting for section 8 and SSDI to come in, to be told no over a debt that had been being paid privately. Governor Inslee investigated the issue and in October of 2023, Sjon's child support debt and all other debt was cleared, his section 8 was approved, and his SSDI finally came in.Sjon was able to experience the second moment in his life, where he could be proud of himself, and knew that the one person he spent trying to make proud was going to be proud of him too, his dad. He found a really nice one bedroom apartment. He was able to furnish it comfortably and had it decorated with everything Michael Jordan and Seahawks. Sjon also spent his time out in the community helping those in need. During the winter he would bring in people sleeping on the streets in the cold and give them a couple night of warm food and a warm environment to clean up and sleep in.December 2024, Sjon was admitted into the hospital and was told his Hepatitis C came back and that he needed to get on the drug therapy before it got any worse and was not able to stop it. He spent Christmas, New Years, and his sister's birthday with his sister at his apartment. He was proud of that. In January, Sjon had pneumonia that he was getting over, and in February he thought he had finally gotten over it. In March, on the 10th, 2025, Sjon Tori Mackey passed away at Peace Health SW in Vancouver, WA. Here are some funny memories that I'd like to share with you about Sjon Tori. Our dad used to let us clean his car, and any time we found change in his car (which were the cupholder full of it) we got to keep it, so as a kid, we were always asking to wash his car. One time Sjon went to clean his car, and had put WD40 on the vehicle to wax it. By the time our dad was done driving the vehicle for the day all of the paint on the vehicle had been stripped off. - He wasn't allowed to wash cars for a while after that. When I, Sjenna was around two years of age, and Sjon had started to accumulate money from chores and so on, he went out and got me a Blue and Pink Bear piggy bank, where the stomach was glass and see through. Once a week he would sit down with me, count the money out, and put it in my piggy bank for me. Sjon and his best friend Brian were living with us, they had to have been around 13 years old, it was Halloween that year, and they both dressed up as women. Tori looked like my mom, and Brian sure made a pretty girl. My brother knew me so well, He knew I loved baby dolls, nails, phones, and purses. I remember for my birthday's he would take me to get my nails done, one Christmas he got me the coolest baby, you could feed her and she'd go potty. She came with diapers and clothes and a high chair and food. She crawled and made cooing noises. One Christmas in Idaho, he took me shopping for what I thought to be his girlfriend's xmas presents. He told me to pick out a purse that she would like, knowing I was going to get something I really liked, I was too young to take into consideration what her preferences were, and so I was excited to open it and see that it was mine. One time, my parents were so mad at him, they made him leave the house, and he knew that it bothered me not being able to see or talk to him. So he got me a throw away cell phone at the age of 10. He was the only contact I had in there, I'm pretty sure he regretted it after all the calls he got from me. My dad had worked for this dealership that had a vehicle that would spin around on its rooftop. I can't remember why my brother needed a vehicle, but I remember my dad taking that vehicle home and told my brother to be very careful with the car, it had to be returned and returned the same way he left with it. Well, Sjon wrecked that vehicle, and my dad had only so many days to get the vehicle fixed, restored to its normal working order and look. And by surprise it was fixed and put back before anyone knew. Sjon had a freddy Krueger mask and gloves left over from a previous halloween. He babysat me often and one night I was trailing him everywhere, most likely getting on his nerves. He had told me he was going to be right back and he went upstairs. When he didn't return I went looking for him, at the top of the stairs was a closet. While looking for him he waited until I checked all the rooms up stairs and was ready to head back down the stairs before he popped out of the closet. When he popped out and I saw the mask, I ran so fast, I never ran that fast in my life before, and screamed and cried. It took a really long time to get me to calm down and come out of the locked bathroom. We used to watch tales from the crypt keeper, and one of the stories was about a boogeyman. I don't know how he planned this out so perfectly, but the street lights were on, and they were about to go off making the entire neighborhood pitch black. He had asked me to go the mailbox at the end of the driveway to check the mail, He said he would stand at the door and watch me and everything would be fine. When I got to the mailbox the street lights went out and he pointed at me and said the boogeyman is behind you, he then shut and locked the door. I ran up to the front door crying trying to get in. Sjon and 3 of his friends from high school were over and they were going to walk to the high school to watch football practice. I wanted to go and so my mom made him take me. I had the hugest crush on his friend Trevor. So the whole time they were watching football practice I kept trying to talk and hang all over Trevor, my brother had said something to Trevor out loud that embarrassed me so I called him a Jerk. When we got home, he had enough of me, so he told my mom that I called Trevor a Jerk and my mom put me in the bathroom and a bar of soap in my mouth. My brother used to like to make me laugh, said it was contagious, and one of the spots I was really ticklish under was my chin. One time he held me up by my feet and was tickling my chin, I would hurt so bad from laughing. One time I had laughed so hard I peed myself while hanging up side down. When Sjon was around 21 years old, he came home late from being out with friends. I was still up and I caught him trying to sneak in, When he went to talk to me he had a lisp, so I said whats wrong with your mouth, he had told me to keep quiet but he pierced his tongue and he couldn't let mom and dad know. I remember he kept swigging the mouthwash. I told him, I don't think thats working, you better not come out of your room because I think your going to talk like that forever. My brother was so fearless, He was the one jumping off crazy high rocks into bodies of water, he was the one getting dropped from a bungee cord to free fall. I'm afraid of heights. My mind is more like, well that seems like a final destination type of activity and his was more like, you only live once. I now realize he tried to experience everything possible in his life before it ended. When we got older, I was in like 5th or 6th grade, my brother was living with roommates, and he would pick me up on weekends to stay with him. He would take me out CD shopping, my parents would never buy the parental advisory cd's but I knew he would. Not too long after getting an eminem CD and literally listening to all the songs until I knew them by heart, our parents and us were in the car getting ready to drive to a family reunion for a camping trip. He had asked me to take out my cd player and head phones so he could listen to some music. After he was done, I took the cd player and head phone and put on the real slim shady song. I remember him saying turn it up, no knowing he couldn't really hear it, and he was sitting next to me acting like he was really rapping it hyping me up, next thing you know i'm actually saying the lyrics to the song out loud and both my parents turn around and look at me like WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY...he couldn't help but laugh so hard. My brother and I were so close, especially the older I got, the less annoying I got for him. so whenever he moved out of the house or had new girlfriends he always made sure to include me. When he was dating his daughters mom, she was pregnant prior to meeting him, and was getting ready to give birth. He took her baby on as his own, and so did our family. My brother knew me without me having to even mention this to him, but he knew being a new dad was going to limit his time with me, so he would tell me things like, i'm old your the one that always babysat the neighborhood kids, I need you to come over and show me how to do stuff. So before I could get jealous of feeling like our time was no more, he swiftly incorporated me into their weekends with the baby by making me feel like I was showing him how to take care of this new baby. Not realizing he already knew, he helped take care of me. My brother went the last 15 years of experiencing family that he was close with turn their backs on him. People he had known forever treat him like he was a stranger. No one is perfect, people make mistakes, and I guarantee if someone would have took the time to explain to him what he is doing to push them away, he would have thought deeply about it and changed. He also didn't feel heard, he didn't feel that people would listen to him and change what they do that hurts him. It saddens me to know, that the entire time he was working so hard to please other people and be held to standards that were meant to be unachievable, and feeling like his life was a waste and he would never be something to be proud of, he missed the one thing that he unconsciously invested it, the one thing he did do for my dad when he passed away. He helped raise me, he helped protect me, he helped me become aware of people and situations, he helped me learn how to see through people and get to the point of their intentions. He helped me learn not to be so uptight, and he helped me realize with my own kids, to invest a little more time into them, that its not about money, its not about what you can buy them, its about the memories. My brother was a thinker, and a helper, a giver. And when everyone he wanted to make a difference for didn't need him, or was kept away from him like his children, he ran out of ideas on how to be there for them and eventually felt unwanted, and a nuisance. He would give the shirt off his back for anyone, and he was always helping strangers, but you don't get to see the help you give strangers do positive things in their lives, you give the help and they leave. WIth family, he wanted to watch his help grow prosperous for them, and was excited to see that in his kids. One last thing I want to say, If you knew my brother, you knew he was a lover, and a good hearted person. Very much a jokester, and prankster. So if you ever have a moment where you miss him, I suggest you pop in Dumb and Dumber the movie with Jim Carey. This movie and Jim Careys role, is my brother all the way. I have said that as a kid and I say it now. I look forward to everyone who visits this obituary to share your moments and memories you had with my brother. Whether good or bad, everyone has a good and bad side, so please don't be shy or afraid to share your memories. Thank you

Sjon T. Mackey

March 18, 1978 - March 10, 2025