JAMES McCARTNEY

McCARTNEY
JAMES R.
James Rowe McCartney, 90, passed away Tuesday, February 22, 2011, at his home in Morgantown. He was born April 7, 1920, in Meyersdale, PA, the son of James E. and Cora Stark McCartney. Jimmy graduated from West Virginia University in 1941 where he played varsity basketball and served as student body president. Following graduation from the University, he served four and one-half years in the U.S. Army with the 2nd Armored Division. Jimmy was on foreign service from the D-Day invasion in North Africa in November 1942, until after V-E Day, participating in eight European campaigns and two D-Day invasions. He saw action in Morocco, Tunisia, Sicily and five countries in Europe. He was awarded the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, French Croix de Guerre, Belgian Fougerre, and was cited for bravery by the British Army. He was a tank company commander during the war, returning to civilian life as a Major in 1946. After the war he returned to Morgantown and joined the University as an Assistant Athletic Director from 1947-1951. He then served as Executive Director of the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce for 16 years where he was instrumental in bringing Mylan Pharmaceuticals to Morgantown. For the next eight years Jimmy was Director of Public and Community Relations for Consolidation Coal Company. In 1975 he was appointed to serve as Secretary of State of West Virginia, a position he held through January, 1977. He then became the Executive Director of the West Virginia University Alumni Association and the Executive Secretary of the Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund, positions he held until his retirement. He continued to serve as a Trustee of the Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund until his death. Jimmy was well-known throughout the state because of his involvement in civic and community affairs. He served as chairman of the Board of Directors of the West Virginia Advisory Council on Vocational Education, the West Virginia Cancer Crusade Committee, the Monongalia County United Fund Campaign, and the Monongalia County Veterans Task Force. He was president of the Monongalia County Board of Education, the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Mountaineer Area Council, Boy Scouts of America. He served as vice president of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the West Virginia Safety Council. He was a Trustee of West Virginia Public Theatre and the Independent College Funds of America, Inc., and a member of the Board of Regents of West Virginia and the West Virginia Ethics Commission. He served on many corporate and charitable organization boards. Jimmy was Chairman of the Board of Directors of One Valley Bank of Morgantown, WV, a member of the Board of Directors of One Valley Bancorp, Charleston, WV, a member of the Boards of Directors of Mellon-Stuart Company and the Daniels Group, Inc., of Pittsburgh, PA, and owner of Chestnut Ridge Manor of Morgantown. He was a member of the Boards of Directors of the West Virginia Foundation of Independent Colleges, the West Virginia 4-H Foundation, the Monongalia Arts Center, the West Virginia Business Foundation, the Monongalia-Preston Counties Salvation Army. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of West Virginia Wesleyan College, President of the Friends of WNPB-TV Board of Directors and the West Virginia Health Care Cooperative, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Northern West Virginia Automobile Club. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of United Methodist Charities, and a member of the Administrative Board, the Board of Trustees, and a Sunday school teacher at Drummond Chapel United Methodist Church of Morgantown. Among the many awards and commendations Jimmy received were the Silver Beaver Award given by the Boy Scouts of America, the National Achievement Award presented by Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, the Distinguished Service Award given by the Morgantown Jaycees, the Millennium Lifetime Achievement Award given by West Virginia Public Theatre, the Morgantown Touchdown Club's Award for Proficiency in Athletics and Good Sportsmanship, the Award of Merit given by the West Virginia Vocational Association, and Public Relations Man of the Year for West Virginia. Jimmy was presented with West Virginia University's Most Loyal West Virginian Award in 1988 and named to the Order of Vandalia by the West Virginia University Alumni Association in 1990. Jimmy is survived by his wife of sixty years, Mary Kathryn Amos McCartney, four children and four grandchildren. One son, John Donham McCartney, predeceased him in 2004. His surviving children and their spouses are Catherine McCartney Bush and her husband John of York, PA; Susan McCartney Pearce and her husband John of Wayne, PA; James Amos McCartney and his wife Amanda of New York City; and David Dean McCartney of Winston-Salem, NC. Jimmy's grandchildren are Elizabeth Bush Weiss and her husband Scott of Richmond, VA; Katharine Rebecca Bush of Phoenix, AZ; David Donham Pearce of San Francisco, CA; and Mark McCartney Pearce of Wayne, PA. Friends will be received at DERING-HENSON FUNERAL HOME, 156 Foundry St. Morgantown, WV, from 3-7 p.m. Sunday, February 27, 2011. Services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, February 28, 2011 at the Suncrest United Methodist Church (Drummond Chapel) with Pastor Tim Halloran officiating. Private burial will be in the Sansom Chapel Church Cemetery, Farmington, PA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Loyalty Permanent Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 4269, Morgantown, WV 26504-4269.Condolences may be sent online to:
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