Robert J. McCabe

Robert J. McCabe, AHC, 80, of Maynard, passed away unexpectedly Sunday, March 11, 2012, and is sorely missed. He was the husband of Claire (Francis) McCabe for 58 years and was the father of Susan (McCabe) Messier and her husband, Donald, Stephen McCabe and his wife, Koko, Timothy McCabe and his wife, Miwa, Charles McCabe, the late Brennan McCabe, and Robert F. McCabe. He is also survived by grandchildren, Paul, Jacquelyn and Claire Messier, Maya McCabe, Brennan, Jessica and James McCabe, R. John and S. Lindsay McCabe; and sisters and brothers, Anne St. George, Margaret Driscoll, Helen Norwood, Charles J. McCabe and Leo P. McCabe. Raised in East Cambridge, Bob studied metallurgy at Rindge Technical School, knowledge that would later benefit him in the architectural hardware industry. Bob served in the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska during the Korean War, and earned a bachelor of arts in history at Northeastern University. He set aside his career as a history teacher and Bachrach photographer in favor of becoming an entrepreneur as an architectural hardware consultant. He was still fully active and president emeritus at Campbell-McCabe. Bob is the past president of the Door and Hardware Institute and former chairman of the DHI Task Force on model building codes, and advisor to the Massachusetts Architectural Barriers Board in its early years. Among his 4,000 specifications, he was proud of working with IM Pei, Jose Luis Sert and on multiple projects at Harvard University, several US embassies, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, ICA, MGH, MIT, Yale, the Smithsonian, as well as the University of Baghdad and other projects in the Middle East. He was particularly gratified by solving difficult design challenges. He loved history and was well traveled, having visited at least 25 countries. Bobs community activities included hockey referee, Maynard Schools Construction Board, St. Bridgets Parish, including performances as a member of the choir for Pope John Paul II, and the Sound of Musics Gazebo. Visiting hours were held Friday, March 16, at the Acton Funeral Home, Acton. The funeral Mass was celebrated Saturday, March 17, 2012 at St. Bridgets Parish, with burial with military honors following in Glenwood Cemetery, Maynard. Donations may be made in Bobs memory to either St. Vincent DePaul Society, 18 Canton St., Stoughton, MA 02072, or The Maynard Food Pantry, PO Box 55, Maynard, MA 01754. Guest book is online at www.actonfuneralhome. com.