Alexander McNair

Alexander John McNair Alexander John McNair of Austin died Friday, October 26, 2012 at the age of 92. Born in St. Joseph, Missouri on September 13, 1920, Alex was the second son of John Garrison McNair and Helen Smith McNair. Both his brother and father died before he was thirteen. His mother married Fred E. Ruegg and the family moved to Austin and began Central Texas Appliance Company in 1939. Alex attended the College of Engineering (1940-41) at the University of Texas before joining the Air Corps in late 1941. As a navigator on the B-17 Flying Fortress, he was engaged in bombing operations on the European aerial front with 30 missions to his credit over occupied France and Germany. First Lieutenant McNair was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and cited for "extraordinary achievement in combat". After returning home, he was a reservist in the U.S. Air Force and was again called to active duty in 1951 during the Korean War where he served as a B-29 instructor-navigator out of Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio. He retired from the Air Force Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel after 25 years. Alex married Martha Julia Kopecky from Granger on February 9, 1944 and they enjoyed over 54 years together before Martha died in 1998. The McNairs built up the appliance business together with their one child, Fred McNair, who joined the business in 1970. The company was a family-owned operation known for its quality service and customer care. After 40 years in business, Alex retired in January 1984, leaving what had become McNair Appliance Inc to his son who directed its successful growth for 15 more years. McNair Appliance Inc. was sold in 1999 to KIVA Kitchen and Bath when Fred retired. Alex and his family were founding members of St. Louis Catholic Church on Burnet Rd. and he served for years on the finance board, raising funds and overseeing initial building programs for the parish. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 5967, the St. Louis Men's Club, served as a Eucharistic Minister and was one of the first adult Acolytes installed by the Bishop of Austin for service at St. Louis Church. He and Martha had the privilege of being chosen as two of the 100 Texans to receive communion directly from Pope John Paul II when he visited Texas in 1987. In 1995, Alex and Martha were inducted into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, an international papal order of honor that supports Christians in the Holy Land. On his 80th birthday in 2000, Alex married Beverly Erickson of California, who has been a beloved, faithful companion to him. Respected Austin businessman, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Alex is preceded in death by his first wife Martha and his only child Fred McNair. He is survived by Beverly, his wife of 12 years; daughter-in-law Evelyn McNair; grandchildren Alex McNair and wife Anna of Kenosha, Wisconsin; Adam McNair and wife Dawn of Lexington, TX; and Amy McNair Rogers and her husband Jed Rogers of Austin. His seven great-grandchildren include Andrew, Anthony and Aaron McNair of Kenosha, WI and Justin, Cody, Tristan and Aubrey McNair of Lexington, TX. Visitation with the family will be held from four o'clock to six o'clock in the evening at Cook Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Blvd., on Sunday, the 28th of October 2012. Funeral Mass will be conducted at half past one in the afternoon, on Monday, the 29th of October 2012, at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 4311 Small Drive, followed by interment at Assumption Cemetery. Memorial gifts may be sent to St. Theresa Catholic Church at 4311 Small Drive, Austin 78731 or St. Louis Catholic Church, 7601 Burnet Rd., Austin 78757.