Memorial

Robert “Mac” Aloysius McAvoy, 94, of Fountain Hills, AZ formally of Cedar Rapids, IA, went to be with the Lord on April 9, 2016.

A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, April, 16, 2016 at 11:00AM at St. Matthews Catholic Church with Father Beckman officiating.  Visitation will be Friday, April 15, 2016 from 5-7pm at the Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home.  Burial will take place following the luncheon at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.  Military rites will be performed by the VFW Post #788.

Mac was born on June 22, 1921 in Charles City, Iowa to William and Rose McAvoy, the youngest of seven children.  He attended Immaculate Conception High School in Charles City and graduated from St. George’s High School in Evanston, Illinois.  He attended Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa before joining the Navy in 1942 where he served in the South Pacific through World War II.

Mac began a sales career in Waterloo, Iowa with Riggs Optical Company, which is now Bausch and Lomb. In June of 1949 he married Margaret Kane of Lawler, Iowa and moved to Cedar Rapids where they raised three children, Michael, Daniel, and Jeanne.  In the 1970’s his sales career advanced to being a Vice-President with Securities Corporation of Iowa (SCI) where he continued to work until his retirement in 1995.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret in 1989, and on July 1, 1994 he married Camilla “Millie” Hoyt.  They lived in Cedar Rapids until 2001 when they moved to Fountain Hills, Arizona.

Mac had a heart to help people in need and gave generously to the Cedar Rapids community on many occasions.  He served as President of the Catholic Laymen’s Club, Board Member of the Homeless Children’s Trust and the Four Oaks Cornerstone Program.  He was an active participant in the ARC of East Central Iowa, Cedar Rapids Downtown Kiwanis, and Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce.  He was a Charter Member of the Sinclair Society, a chairman of the Regis Century Club (now Xavier Silver), and a three year sponsor of Regis International Seminars.  He was a member of St. Pius Catholic Church.

In Fountain Hills, Mac continued to be active in the community.  His family donated the sculpture “Duck Parade” for his 90th birthday which is on display in the Fountain Hills Activity Center lobby.  He was active in Fountain Hills Noon Kiwanis Club and was a member of Ascension Catholic Church.

Mac had a robust zeal for life.  He enjoyed music and dancing, especially waltzes and polkas.  He loved to travel, play bridge, and golf, but nothing pleased him more than a dinner party with friends and family and a good joke.

Mac is survived by his wife, Camilla “Millie” McAvoy; his sons Michael (Carolyn) McAvoy of St. Louis, MO and Daniel McAvoy of Newark, NJ; his son-in-law Bill Worth of Dallas, TX; his grandchildren Shannon (John) Grass, Meredith (Steve) Perkins, Fritz (Jenny) McAvoy, and Daniel and Brian Worth; great-grandchildren, George and Adam Grass, Nathaniel and Flora Perkins, and Arthur and Henry McAvoy; his brother Thomas McAvoy.

Mac will also be missed and is survived by his step-family including Millie’s children Robert (Carol) Hoyt, Catherine (Dan) Nosbish, Lynn (Dave) Strang, and Janet (Richard) Janis-Tuten.  He was loved as a grandfather by their eleven children as well.

He was preceded in death by his parents William and Rose McAvoy, five siblings, his first wife, Margaret McAvoy, and his daughter Jeanne Worth.

Memorials may be made to The Arc of East Central Iowa, 680 2nd Street SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401.