McCall

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McCall
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Mac McCall passed away on Sept. 20 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after a brief bout with cancer. He was preceded in death by his wife, Paula McCall.

Dad was born near Blenheim, South Carolina. He joined the Coast Guard at the age of 17 and retired to St. Marys in 1977. He and mom (Paula) remained in St. Marys until 2018 when they moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Dad was quiet, a proud man and a hard worker. His work ethic came from working in a field with his father who was a sharecropper. That work ethic served him well in the Coast Guard, at Gilman paper mill and as a civil service employee who worked in supply at SUBASE and TRF. He loved the Dallas Cowboys, the Boston Celtics and country music. He bowled in a league for many years. He enjoyed slot machines at casinos and playing pinochle. His favorite meals were fried chicken with rice and gravy or a pot of pinto beans with rice. He enjoyed being part of, and meeting with, the “Hardee’s Mafia” every morning to discuss politics and world events. He watched Fox News and Judge Judy and he never passed up a bowl of butter pecan ice cream. He loved to sit on the porch with a cup of coffee. 

More than any of those things though, he loved his family. He said that marrying Mom was the second best thing that happened in his life, the first being the day he joined the Coast Guard. He enjoyed picking up his granddaughter from daycare and stopping by the store to buy her a Yoo-hoo. Many Saturday mornings, he took her to Steffens for breakfast. He enjoyed watching his other grandchildren play sports and bragged about how smart all of his grandchildren are. He liked it when his children and grandchildren worked the Sunday crossword puzzle with him.Hardly a day went by that he didn’t say how proud of all of us he was.    

Mac was survived by his daughter Denise (Dennis) Ricker, son Mark McCall, and daughter Marsha (Luis) Roman; and his grandchildren, Elizabeth (Geran) Matthews, Daniel Roman (Brenna), Angelia (Dylan) Roman and Conner Roman. He is also survived by his sisters, Virginia Rivers and Juanita (Elbert) Coxe, various uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.   

Due to COVID-19, a private service was held Saturday, Sept. 26, at Bristow Free Will Baptist Church in Blenheim. In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made to the American Cancer Society.