OBITUARY Cindee Macy-Beckwith April 18, 1954 – January 15, 2019 Play Tribute Movie Cynthia Noel Macy-Beckwith – actress, teacher, horsewoman, beloved wife and doting mother – passed away peacefully in her sleep at UCSD Medical Center in La Jolla, California on January 15, 2019, after a long series of illnesses. She was 64 years old and one day shy of her 37th wedding anniversary. Cindee was born April 18th, 1954 in Montebello, California, to Bill Macy and Ann Whitecotton Macy.
She displayed a connection with horses at an early age and anyone who knew her well could confirm that saying Cindee loved horses is a bit like saying people love breathing. She enjoyed riding English-style and jumping obstacles at any opportunity, and any horse that she met and “whickered” to would almost instantly lower its head, flick its ears forward, and approach her knowingly. She epitomized the phrase “get back on the horse”, as neither getting kicked in the head, taking a bone-shattering blow to the face, or ending up in the ER with a broken shoulder from being thrown off could keep her away from her equine friends for very long.
As a young adult, she also discovered a passion for acting, eventually obtaining her B.F.A. in Theatre at the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles (CalArts, affectionately known as “Mickey Mouse U”). She trained and performed in a broad range of styles, with a strong emphasis on Shakespeare. A master class she took with John D. Barrymore (son of the legendary American actor) yielded one of the best reflections of her vulnerability and effectiveness onstage: Barrymore informed her that he would typically advise anyone against auditioning with Juliet’s balcony speech, but upon seeing her interpretation of it, he declared her an exception.
This vote of confidence, among others, propelled her in pursuit of acting as a career, and she migrated northward from LA, first to the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and eventually to Portland, Oregon. She was sometimes cast as young boys due to her diminutive stature, and though she never got the opportunity to play her dream role of Peter Pan (“The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up”), her casting as the fairy sprite Puck in a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream would prove fortuitous. The actor originally offered the role was unable to commit to the show and she replaced him.
When that actor, David Beckwith, went to see the production, as he later put it, “she’s the only thing that I remember about the show”. They later worked together on numerous productions with Portland’s New Rose Theatre, including a children’s theatre production of Cinderella, Moliere’s The School for Wives, and Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and became for all intents and purposes inseparable. Cindee and David were married on January 16, 1982, at a church on the Oregon coast, in high winter winds and horizontal rain.
She sang Fleetwood Mac and Linda Ronstadt covers with the band at her own reception (wedding dress and all) while her new husband accompanied her on drums. Their combined last name was a recognition that they were equal partners in this new “firm”; it also resulted in a family joke that she “got top billing, but David got the credit rating”. Daughter Caitlin and son Evan – born in California two and four years later, respectively– were also given this last name and thus learned how to spell quite young, but no amount of misspellings on mail or frustration by the lack of spaces on a Scantron form in school would diminish their pride in bearing it.
The Macy-Beckwiths settled in what would become their longtime family home in Oceanside, California in 1988 and the young couple both shifted into new careers: he into the computer industry and she into domestic engineering. Christianity became central to their lives at this time and they began regularly attending North Coast Church in Vista, California. Cindee worked in the church office for a time and was active in numerous church ministries, including singing on the worship team and collaborating with David in writing and performing sketches and short dramatic pieces to accompany sermons and special events at North Coast.
Outside of church, the entire family became involved with the non-profit Christian Youth Theater (CYT), eventually devoting more than 10 years to that wonderful organization. Cindee passed along her love for theatre as a teacher for CYT and assisted David with numerous productions as co-director, costume designer, acting coach, and casting genius. Her health began to break down in the early 2000’s and she gradually lost the ability to drive and even to go outside the house unaided, but despite increasing disability and chronic pain, she never flagged in her faith.
She also developed supportive relationships via email and text with a few other believers struggling with severely debilitating diseases. Cindee’s last text was to one of these prayer partners, stating that she hoped that they got to Heaven at the same time and could finally meet face-to-face. She took joy both prior to and during this challenging time from her passionate love of animals and in caring for her “fur-kids”: a revolving door of dogs, cats, and the occasional hamster, along with her best four-legged friend, a black Morgan-Quarter horse named “My Blue Heaven” (Blue for short).
When her illnesses eventually eliminated her ability to get out to the ranch (her “happy place”), Cindee focused instead on horse racing, parlaying hours of study on the TVG racing channel into a modest but consistent winning streak on the TVG website. Her final appearance onstage was in 2008 in the role of Miss Prism in a production of The Importance of Being Earnest (a favorite play of hers in which she had played the role of Cecily in her younger days). David played Doctor Chasuble; this was to be their final theatrical collaboration.
As she became effectively house-bound, she exercised her creative side through listening to music (especially new musicals, numerous country artists, and Taylor Swift), critiquing new movie releases, creating adorably color-coordinated outfits (often featuring cowboy boots) for her frequent visits to doctors and other medical personnel, and generating interior and exterior home design projects, one of which was completed just weeks before she passed. She also offered consistent, fiercely loving support to her kids, now all grown up and pursuing their own creative ventures in Seattle. One of the greatest joys of her last few years were any and all interactions with her great-niece, Hadley, now 3 – who, according to her mom (Cindee’s niece, Heather) “loves dogs, and horses, and doesn’t want to grow up”.
Cindee was preceded in death by her father Bill and grandmother Pauline. She is survived and so very missed by her husband David (Oceanside), daughter Caitlin (Seattle), son Evan (Seattle), mother Ann Macy (Palm Springs), and sister Debbie Peay (Laguna Niguel). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Canine Companions for Independence || Founded in 1975, Canine Companions for Independence is a non-profit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships.
(CCI.org) or Equus Foundation || The EQUUS Foundation is the only national animal welfare charity in the United States 100% dedicated to safeguarding the comfort and dignity of America’s horses throughout their lives and sharing their magic and power with as many people as possible. Our mission is to protect America’s horses and strengthen the bond between horses and people.
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