Robert 'Mac' McAvoy

ROBERT "MAC" ALOYSIUS MCAVOY

Cedar Rapids

Robert "Mac" Aloysius McAvoy, 94, of Fountain Hills, Ariz., formerly of Cedar Rapids, went to be with the Lord on April 9, 2016. A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 16, at St. Matthew Catholic Church with Father Beckman officiating. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 15, at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home. Burial will take place following the luncheon at Mount Calvary Cemetery. Military rites will be performed by the VFW Post No. 788.

Mac was born 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, Ill. He attended Loras College in Dubuque before joining the Navy in 1942, where he served in the South Pacific through World War II.

Mac began a sales career in Waterloo with Riggs Optical Co., which is now Bausch and Lomb. In June 1949, he married Margaret Kane of Lawler and moved to Cedar Rapids where they raised three children, Michael, Daniel and Jeanne. In the 1970s, his sales career advanced to being 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.

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, N.J.; his son-in-law, Bill Worth of Dallas, Texas; 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; and 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 11 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 Second St. SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401.

Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.cedarmemorial.com under Obituaries.