Harold "Mac" McGregor Salfen

Harold McGregor Salfen (“Mac”) was born on February 1, 1947, in St. Louis, Missouri, and passed away on July 10, 2026, in Arlington, Texas, after a long illness. The son of Harold Joseph Salfen and Marjorie Elizabeth Salfen (née McGregor), Mac was married to Faith Elena Salfen (née Forehand) for 51 years.

Mac was preceded in death by his parents and by his siblings Terry, Jack, Kathy, and Marty. He is survived by his brother Ron, his wife Faith, his son Kevin (Laura), his daughter Kathleen Murphy (Caleb Hall), and his grandchildren Wystan Salfen, Aiden Murphy, Josie Murphy, and Mabel Hall, as well as numerous in-laws, nieces, and nephews.

Although born in St. Louis, Mac spent much of his childhood in Atlanta before the Salfen's moved to north Texas, where Mac graduated from Eastern Hills Senior High School in Fort Worth in 1965. Mac was a proud veteran and served in the United States Army from September 1970 through April 1972. He received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1974 and subsequently worked at Mary Kay Cosmetics “weeding bugs out of makeup.” He caught the computer bug in the early 1980s and worked as a technical writer and computer technician for several companies before landing at Lockheed Martin.

In retirement, he volunteered extensively for Hearts & Hands Food Pantry and had an opportunity, which he treasured, to substitute teach for a community college history class, but his greatest joy was in spending time with his grandchildren. Mac was generous both to those he knew and to perfect strangers. He had an abiding love for board games and, later in life, video games. He was a storehouse of knowledge about history, especially military history, and had an enduring fascination with science. He passed on to his children and grandchildren some portion of his distinctive sense of humor and helped instill in them his own joyful sense of wonder.

A funeral service will be held for Mac at Wade Funeral Home in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday July 21st, 2026, and he will be interred at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery on Wednesday July 22nd, 2026. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the American Cancer Society and St. Matthew United Methodist Church, Fort Worth. Reception to follow funeral service at Saint Matthew United Methodist Church