Col. (USA-RET) Robert William McEvoy

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Col. (USA-RET) Robert William McEvoy, formerly of Clearwater, died peacefully April 5, 2009, surrounded by those who loved him, in his home. Born April 10, 1919, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Edmund and Sophia (Cook) McEvoy, he attended City College of New York on a full ROTC scholarship and graduated with a BS in engineering. He worked as Civil Engineer for Dupont in Seaford, Del., while the Seaford plant was being built there. He was called to active duty in 1942 and served in the European Theater as a Second Lt. and converted to Regular Army as a Major in 1946. His military career spanned three continents and over 30 years and included tours in England, with special weapons at Sandia Base, N.M., a 13 month tour in Korea, as the commander of Harry Diamond Fuse Lab in Washington, D.C., as the Commander of LWL at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., numerous trips to Vietnam to evaluate and test the equipment his organization developed for our troops, including a human-sniffing bed bug that literally smelled the enemy, and a canopy that could allow helicopters to land on top of the jungle's trees. He retired as the second in command at the Ordinance Center and School at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., in 1972. After retirement he became the Executive Director for the (then) Northern Maryland Society for the Aid to Retarded Citizens and was instrumental in establishing the first community-based home care for mentally retarded adults of Harford County, Md. He was an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, USA, and his strong faith guided his life. He belonged to the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry and was a 32 degree Mason, was a Paul Harris Fellow and active in Dover's Capital City Rotary. Bob gave generously of his time and talents to numerous charity organizations and donated over 11 gallons of lifesaving blood during his lifetime. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 62 years, Margaret Howard. He is survived by his daughter, Marianne and her husband Jerry Abrams along with their sons, Jacob, Daniel and Nicholas all of Dover; and by his son, Michael and his wife Shelley and his children Katlyn and Christopher of Port Deposit, Md. He has numerous nieces, nephews and cousins that shared in the joys of his life. Celebration of life service will be held at Westminster Village Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 2 p.m. Burial will be in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D.C., with full Military Honors, June 17, 2009 at 3 p.m. Donations in his honor may be made to the Presbyterian Church of Dover, 52 South State St., Dover, DE 19904 or to any Veterans Association. Condolences may be sent to www.delmarvaobits.com or traderfh@aol.com.