Chris MacAulay Fund


Chris MacAulay was born Christine Ann Mills in 1957. She was a third generation Saskatonian -the daughter of businessman Denis Mills and the granddaughter of former city mayor J.S. Mills and Ethel Mills. Her mother Carolyn moved to Saskatoon from Nova Scotia after World War II. Chris was married to Gord MacAulay, a fellow native Saskatonian. An earlier marriage to Glenn Milligan ended in divorce.

All her life, Chris was happiest surrounded by family, friends and children. She was a young mother to Denis, Krystle and Rachel, and later on a step mom to Janice and Shannon, and still later a grandmother to Aiden and Ethan. For many years she worked in the family business founded by her father -MPS Photographies -a downtown retail storefront for all things relevant to photography. At various times she worked alongside her mother, her brother Blake, her uncle Brian and her cousin Ron. She was an enthusiastic self-taught photographer and one of her favourite subjects was Saskatoon. She photographed the city in all seasons throughout her life.

Chris was also a long time participant in the Saskatoon music world. As a child, she and her sister Susan sang in the choir at St. James Church and studied piano with choirmaster Lil Thompson. Chris attended Albert School. Wayne Kyle, the school’s principal, was a Saskatoon Summer Players member who provided an opportunity for her to join a Melodica band, sing at school assemblies and take part in several Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.

As an adult, music continued to be an important part of her life. At the time she passed away, at age 54, Chris was an active member of the Saskatoon Blues Society where she was known in particular for photographing live blues performances. She played keyboards with SoundWave, a band that performed regularly at public and private gatherings in the city, often on a volunteer basis.

The Chris MacAulay Fund was established by the Mills, Milligan and MacAulay families to honour her life and the wide range of her interests. Chris lived all of her life in Saskatoon and this fund will help Saskatoon continue to be the vibrant and beautiful city she knew and loved.

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