Robert Miller (Bob) McCreary |
| Posted 2009-04-30 by Casa Grande Dispatch |
| McCREARY, Robert Miller "Bob" Robert Miller "Bob" McCreary, 89, died April 7, 2009. The memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Grace Church. Mr. McCreary was born on Feb. 27, 1920 in Danville, Illinois, and was a son of Miller A. and Bessie Miller McCreary. He filled his young days with school, camping, a paper route and what would become an enduring passion, Scouting. He became an Eagle Scout in December 1937 and graduated that same year from Danville High School. He entered the University of Illinois in mechanical engineering in the fall of 1937. He was a lifetime member of Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity and Alpha Phi Omega, a fraternity for service to youth based on the principles of Scouting. He was also a member of Phi Eta Sigma, Scabbard and Blade, National Society of Pershing Rifles, the YMCA Cabinet and the ROTC University Brigade. In his third year at U of I, at a scout meeting, he met Mary E. Veeder, who would become his wife and lifelong love. He graduated in 1941 and entered the Army as a second lieutenant. A member of the Ordnance Corps, he served at Iowa Ordnance Plant in Burlington and Southwest Proving Ground in Hope, Ark. The couple married on May 16, 1942 and moved to Hope. He served until January 1946, leaving active service as a captain. He served in the Officers Reserve Corps from 1946 to 1960, retiring as a major. In 1946, the family moved to Danville. He worked for Electric Eye Equipment Company until 1955 and, as project engineer, assigned two patents to the company. In June 1955, the family moved to Decatur, Ill., where he worked first at the Marvel-Schebler Division of Borg-Warner Corporation as chief draftsman, then quality control engineer. He led a team that assigned one patent to the company. In 1968, he moved to Burks Pump Co. and developed a quality control program for the company. While in Decatur, he was active in the First Presbyterian Church and many civic affairs, including Boy Scouts. He completed a master's of education degree from the U of I in 1977 and became a lifelong member of Phi Delta Kappa, the professional fraternity in education. In March 1984, he retired and moved to Mesa, where he taught at Mesa Community College in metallurgy, quality control and advanced mathematics. He received honors for his teaching. He lovingly cared for Mary until her death due to Alzheimer's. In 1996 he met and married Natalie Hollis. They moved to Casa Grande in 2002. He continued to be active in his church and various historical societies. Together he and Natalie served as volunteers with hospice organizations in Casa Grande and in Payson, and with the senior center, leading singing weekly. A member of the Sons of the American Revolution, Civil War Round Table and the Westerners Society, he often was a speaker at various meetings. Survivors include six sons and daughters, David B. McCreary of Mountain Home, Ark., Mary P. McCreary of Mesa, Paul R. McCreary of Tacoma, Wash., Carol A. McCreary of Ishpeming, Mich., Julia M. Laws of Washington, D.C., and Nancy J. Zurawka of Monson, Mass.; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. His second wife died in 2006. The family has established a Boy Scout summer camp scholarship with Lincoln Trails Council BSA, 262 W. Prairie Ave., Decatur, IL 62523 (include "Camp Scholarship - Bob McCreary" on the check memo line). National Cremation Society of Phoenix was in charge of arrangements. Published in the Casa Grande Dispatch April 29, 2009. |
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