Remembering Jerry McCormack
James (Jerry) Donald McCormack passed away in Bothell, WA on April 27, 2024. He was born in 1928 in the family house at 8th and K in Anacortes to Francis Donald and Alice Reichert McCormack. He spent his first 12 years in Anacortes, exploring the surrounding beaches and waters, watching the activity at the family’s lumber mill (Anacortes Box and Lumber at the foot of Commercial Street), and spending as much time as possible at the family’s newly built cabin on North Beach on Guemes. After the mill burned down in 1942, the family moved to Salem, Oregon to operate another lumber mill. He attended Salem High School and graduated class valedictorian in 1946.
He attended Oregon State University, lived in Sigma Phi fraternity, and received a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1950. Shortly after graduation, he moved to Richland, WA for a job as an engineer for General Electric at the Hanford Engineering Works. Jerry worked for a series of companies and engineering positions at Hanford researching nuclear safety and ending up as Fellow Engineer at Westinghouse where he retired in 1994. He remained in Richland his entire career and life except for his last year when he moved to the Seattle area to be close to his sons and daughters-in-laws.
Jerry was socially active in Richland and enjoyed many skiing trips to local areas and Sun Valley, and gathering with friends. It was at a ski gathering that he met the love of his life, Marjorie Ann Hyatt, and they were married in August 1956. Together, they had three sons, Ed, Dave, and Dan
In Richland, what Jerry enjoyed most was working in his well-equipped but overflowing wood- and metal-working basement shop. He loved repairing household objects, long past their expected life, or building specialized tools for friends, ideally having to use his Victorian-era metal lathe.
An important part of his life was at Guemes. Even when he was single, he would occasionally travel to Guemes to cut back the black berries overtaking the cabin. After his sons were born, every summer, just before the 4th of July, he would pack every available space in the car and drive the family and cat to the Guemes cabin. He would stay as many weeks as his vacation time allowed before he had to go back to Richland to work. He would return just before Labor Day and take the family back to Richland. After retirement, he enjoyed more frequent and longer stays at Guemes. He also accompanied Marjorie Ann on many cruises and tours across the globe.
While at Guemes, Jerry was rarely still. He improved the cabin by adding electricity and replacing the outhouse with a bathroom, worked on the community well, and repaired boats “overused” by his active sons. He enjoyed frequent dinner parties and cocktail hours with his North Beach neighbors, often organized by Marjorie Ann. But no matter how busy, he always set aside time for reading to satisfy his wide-ranging curiosity.
Jerry is predeceased by his wife Marjorie Ann. He is survived by his 3 sons, Ed (Lauri and their daughter Delaney), Dave (Heidi deceased), and Dan (Eileen) He is survived by his brother Mike and preceded in death by his sisters Catherine and Marion.
A celebration of Jerry’s life will be held later.