Cape Breton Deaths courtesy of CAPE BRETON GENEALOGY & HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION VISIT OUR WEBSITE - <http://www.cbgen.org/>www.cbgen.org NEW MEMBERS WELCOME Cape Breton Post September 04, 2013 Wednesday 'I had nothing but praise and respect for Archie' Former alderman Archie Macrury died Monday SYDNEY - Current and former municipal politicians are paying their respects to former city of Sydney alderman Archie MacRury. He died at home Monday at the age of 80. MacRury served as a city alderman from the 1970s to the mid 1990s, including time spent as Sydney's deputy mayor. Manning MacDonald, who recently retired as a provincial Liberal MLA, was mayor of Sydney during MacRury's tenure on city council. "He spent a great deal of time on civic matters and he certainly was the kind of guy that if I asked him to do something as mayor, he would certainly volunteer and do it well. I had nothing but praise and respect for Archie," MacDonald said on Tuesday evening. "He's going to be missed by the community because he was still very much involved with his causes that he wanted to be involved with." MacDonald said MacRury was a champion for those suffering from mental illness, and advocated on their behalf. Growing up in Whitney Pier, MacRury worked at the Dominion coal pier in Sydney as an accounting clerk and later as an administrator at the Cape Breton Hospital. He served his municipal constituents from Ward 4 in Ashby. Mayor Cecil Clarke and council of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality offered their condolences to the family on Tuesday. In a statement, Dist. 12 Coun. Jim MacLeod wrote about how MacRury helped him as a young alderman trying to set about his own political path. "I was a new councillor and Archie and some of the others took me under their wing and gave advice and guidance," MacLeod said. He also remembered MacRury as a famous storyteller with a sharp wit. MacRury played a part in the proposal to build Centre 200 as Sydney's premier arena for sporting and entertainment events, MacDonald said. He was also heavily involved in the waterfront development corporation that was responsible for the construction of the Sydney boardwalk, he added. MacRury is survived by his wife, Beatrice, four children and three grandchildren. His funeral will take place Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Theresa's Church with Rev. James Oliver officiating. An interment service will follow in Resurrection Cemetery in Sydney Forks.