Obituary of James Wylie McCready

Lieutenant Colonel James Wylie McCready (U.S. Army, Retired), following a three-month bout with cancer, entered the “Sabbath rest for the people of God,” on March 27, 2016. Funeral services will be 2:00 P. M. Monday, April 4, 2016 from Ozark Presbyterian Church with The Reverend Frank C. Ellis, Jr. officiating. Interment will be in Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Alabama with full Military Honors, Holman Funeral Home and Cremations of Ozark directing. The family will receive friends at the funeral home in Ozark Sunday, April 3, 2016 from 3:00 P. M. until 5:00 P. M. Born on August 9, 1939, in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, the second child of Wm. Stewart and Caroline M. McCready, Jim entered the U.S. Army Reserve in November 1956. Following graduation from Geneva College, in Beaver Falls, Penn., in 1964 he completed Officer Training School and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. Following navigator, electronic warfare officer (EWO), and B-52 crew training, from 1966 to 1967 he served as EWO in the 668th Bombardment Squadron, Griffiss Air Force Base, Rome, N.Y. He then transferred to the U.S. Army, serving in various operational and staff duty assignments mainly as a signal, radio, and air traffic control officer and UH-1 Huey helicopter pilot. During 1969, Jim served a combat tour at Camp Enari, Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, with the 4th Aviation Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. From 1970 until his retirement from the Army in 1983, he served at Fort Monmouth, N.J. (1970-72); Seoul, Republic of Korea (1972-73); Mannheim, Federal Republic of Germany (1973-76); Fort Rucker, Ala. (1976-80); and, Fort Leavenworth, Kans. (1980-83). Lieutenant Colonel McCready’s numerous military awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Bronze Star Medal. Following his military career, for 21 years Jim was a much-beloved teacher of various subjects and longtime coach of the girl’s volleyball team at Northside Methodist Academy in Dothan, Ala. He also was a member of a barbershop quartet that performed in the local area. Since 2005, he worked in several contracted positions at Fort Rucker, built his second of two homes in Ozark, Ala., and continued to teach, at one time or another, eight of his sixteen grandchildren at home. Indeed, Jim never intended to retire, but preferred, as he said, “for the Lord to retire me.” He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Gail Arden (nee Rohm) McCready; three siblings, Kay Casuccio, Jack (and Bev) McCready, and Ruth (and Ray) Vos; three children, Susan (and Ron) Darnell, April (and Forrest) Marion, and Brian (and April) McCready; sixteen grandchildren (Bert, Arden, Sam, Ronni, Nathan (and Anna), Timothy, Bethany, Hannah, Anne, James, Clara, Maggie, Jonathan, Aaron, Robbie, Grace), and two great-granddaughters (Abigail, Grace). Brought up in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), he served as a ruling elder during the 1990s in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), loved the “living and active” word of God and was a godly mentor, counselor, and friend to many in his large extended family, church, and community. Service Information