John McCormick Jr.

john mccormick jr.
John L. McCormick Jr. died at home on Thursday, July 8, 2004 surrounded by family members. John L. McCormick, Jr. was born in Fargo, North Dakota on June 4, 1913 to John and Mary (Retterath) McCormick. He attended St. Anthony?s grade school, St. John?s Preparatory School and NDAC, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1935. He was a member of Theta Chi Fraternity. He went to work for Northern Improvement Company, a company founded by his father in 1935, until World War II broke out. He entered the Army in May of 1941 and remained on active duty until April 1946. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Corp of Engineers and was assigned to work on the Manhattan Project. After the war he returned to Northern Improvement Company becoming President in 1966. In 1987 he became Chairman of the Board where he remained until his retirement this year. Under his leadership, Northern Improvement Company became one of the 60 largest highway construction companies in the United States. He was very active in the business community and the non-business community serving on many boards and doing fund raising. He was President of the North Dakota Chapter of the Associated General Contractors and a lifetime Director of the National Association of General Contractors. He was involved in the NDSU Development Foundation for many years and was one of the members of the Search Committee which brought Darrell Mudra to NDSU to turn around its football program. More recently, he was instrumental in the Fargo Catholic Schools Network fund drives. He has received many awards including NDSU Outstanding Alumni Award, NDSU Alumni Achievement Award, NDSU Honorary Doctorate, he is a member of the North Dakota Highway Hall of Fame and is a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. The Fargo Catholic Schools Network recently named him an honorary lifetime board member. He was also a member of the Elks, Eagles and Knights of Columbus. He married Lucile Marie Coghlan in Dickinson, North Dakota on November 7, 1940. They had seven sons and lived in Fargo, Oxbow and Carefree, Arizona. She died in September of 1987. He married Glee Marie Wilkinson on September 4, 1988. He was preceded in death by his wife Lucile, his parents, and a brother, Maurice. He is survived by his wife Glee, a sister, Patricia Moen, his seven sons, John III (Olivia) Bullhead City, Arizona, Joseph, Maurice (Joy), Thomas (Judy) all in Fargo, Stephen (Karen) Bismarck, Robert (Julie) Avon, Colorado and Paul (Janice) Edina, Minnesota, 20 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren. There will be a Prayer Service at 7:00 P.M. Monday at Sts. Anne & Joachim Catholic Church, Fargo. The Funeral will be on Tuesday at 10:00 A.M. at Sts. Anne & Joachim Catholic Church. Visitation will be held from 5:00 ? 7:00 P.M. Monday in the church, and also from 9:00 ? 10:00 A.M. Tuesday in the church. In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Fargo Catholic Schools Network, NDSU, Nokomis or your favorite charity. Funeral arrangements by Boulger Funeral Home. Online guestbook at www.boulgerfuneralhome.com

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