His retail clothing stores have been dressing Latter-day Saint missionaries — and countless Utah businessmen — in two-pant suits for more than a half a century. Mac “Mr. Mac” Christensen died on Oct. 11 in Salt Lake City at the age of 85.
Fred Macray Christ-ensen was the founder of clothing retailer Mr. Mac and was active in Utah civic and church affairs for most of his life. He was the president of the renowned Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for over 10 years during a period when the choir won two Grammy nominations and the prestigious National Medal of Arts.
Gov. Gary Herbert released a statement following Christensen’s death in which he called him “a living legend.” “Mac Christensen was a true gentleman and a successful entrepreneur. He loved and cared about everyone and everyone loved him in return. Everyone was his friend. ... He cared about how you looked on the outside — but more importantly he cared about how you looked on the inside. He was known for his kindness, his service and his charitable giving,” Herbert’s statement said.
Former U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, known to be a longtime friend of Christensen, praised him in a tweeted statement. “Mac was a powerful force for good in this world, helping men of all ages look their best selves to be their best selves. He outfitted generations of missionaries and businessmen, many of whom to this day remember buying their first suit at Mr. Mac. A sharp dresser and an even sharper mind, Mac always used his talents to help, uplift, and inspire those around him” the tweet read. “I’m personally grateful for Mac’s example and the abundant love and kindness he showed me over so many years of friendship.”
Christensen was born in Salina on May 11, 1934. He grew up in Sanpete County and married Joan Graham in 1953. He began attending Snow College in Ephraim but when he ran out of tuition money, he moved to Salt Lake City to earn the funds to continue his education as a worker at the Kennecott Copper mine, he told the Deseret News in a 2011 profile. Thwarted in his plans by a strike at the mine, Christensen took a job selling ties in the mens department at the ZCMI department store in downtown Salt Lake City.
Ten years later, Christensen left ZCMI as the manager of the boys and mens departments, sold his home and opened a new clothing store in Bountiful called Mac’s Clothes Tree. When business would lag, Christensen would load some suits into a van and travel around Northern Utah peddling his wares.
By 1968, business had begun to boom and Christensen decided to buy a clothing store in Idaho Falls, Idaho, owned by a man named Macintosh. The store was called “Mr. Mac’s.” Christensen liked the name and decided to apply it to all his stores.
In 1997, Christensen and his wife accepted a church calling to be the directors of the Washington, D.C., Temple Visitors’ Center. It was at this juncture that he began the process of selling Mr. Mac to his sons, Scott, Stan, Spencer and Stuart and a family friend, Steve Winn. At the time of his passing, the chain has nine stores in Utah and one in Arizona.
Christensen is survived by his wife, Joan, seven children, 39 grandchildren and 44 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his oldest son, Steve. Funeral services were scheduled for Oct. 21 at the Bountiful Stake Center.