Alan Marshall McGee Jr.

Published 4:00 pm Thursday, February 2, 2017

Alan Marshall McGee Jr., 88, of Advance, died on Feb. 1, 2017 at Trinity Elms in Clemmons.

He was born in Winston-Salem on July 13, 1928 to the late Alan Marshall McGee and the late Bennie Lee Upchurch McGee. He graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School in 1945 and from N.C. State University in 1949, earning a bachelors degree in chemical engineering with honors. After graduation, he joined Hercules Inc. where he had a 30 year career in marketing, research and development and production management. After his retirement, he and wife Nancy moved to Raleigh and worked in several family businesses. He was an active member of Asbury Methodist Church in Raleigh for 20 years and taught Sunday School and served on numerous committees. After moving to Bermuda Village in Advance in 2000, he became an active member of Clemmons United Methodist Church and the Upper Room Sunday School Class. His life was marked by his devotion to God, his wife and family. He was a life-long learner, a fierce competitor in any sport and a voracious reader. He never missed an opportunity to teach or  impart some lesson to his children and grandchildren. He instilled in his children an abiding appreciation for nature through walks in the woods and visits to parks. He derived the greatest joy in his later years from his great-grandchildren and loved hearing about their growth and development. He was a tennis player from his early 20s until six months prior to his death. While living in Raleigh, he joined the Raleigh Racquet Club and became active in senior tennis, winning state championships in singles and doubles. He was selected for two consecutive years to play on the United States team in the Osuna Cup, an annual tennis competition between Mexico and the United States. Later in life, he loved playing doubles and enjoying the fellowship of his tennis buddies at Vision Tennis Center. He was an Eagle Scout and a member of the Order of the Arrow. He was a lifelong member of the NC State Alumni Association and a member of its R. Stanhope Pullen Society.

He was also preceded in death by his daughters Janice Marshall McGee and Susan Elizabeth Smith; and his brother, Lawrence B. McGee.

Survivors: his wife of 66 years, Nancy Duckworth McGee; his son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Sandra McGee of Winston-Salem; his daughter and son-in-law, Nanci and Chris Robinson of Swansboro; grandchildren, Marshall McGee and wife Melissa of Ashburn, Va., Sarah McGee Girard and husband Richard of Key Largo, Fla., and Shannon and Christopher Robinson of Swansboro; and 5 great-grandchildren, Davis, Carys, Conner and Emma Kate McGee and Richard Girard Jr.; his sister-in-law, Dot McGee of Raleigh; and his nephews, David and Greg McGee.

A celebration of life will be held at Clemmons Methodist Church on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11 a.m. followed by visitation with the family.

Memorials: Hospice/Palliative CareCenter, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, 27103; or to the Clemmons Food Pantry, PO Box 871, Clemmons, 27012.