Richard Jerome McRee, age 91, native and life-long resident of the Birmingham, AL area, passed away Sunday, February 24, 2019. He loved the Lord, loved his family, and loved his country. Richard attended Central Park Elementary and graduated from West End High School before attending the University of Alabama Extension Center, now UAB. He retired from Southern Company Services with 31 years in project engineering.
Richard was a member of Riverchase United Methodist Church in Birmingham. He was also active in the NRA, the Black Powder Gun Club, Birmingham Cruising Club, Boy Scouts, and Swinging Stars Square Dance Club, in addition to serving as president of the home owners association where he and Mary Sue resided. Richard’s favorite pastimes included woodworking, carpentry, photography, calligraphy, pen-making, and carving. While Richard was a man of many skills and talents, he took his greatest pride in his family. He and his wife, the former Mary Sue McWilliams, celebrated almost 70 years of marriage. They wed on his 22nd birthday, March 28, 1949. Richard was predeceased by his parents, James Fred McRee, Sr. and Mary Cleveland Anderson McRee. Survivors include Richard’s wife, Mary Sue; two daughters, Vickie McRee Rutherford (Bruce) of Douglasville, GA and Leigh Ann Corvin (Bruce) of Clay, AL; one son, Kent McRee (Laura) of Frisco, TX; and grandchildren, Kimberly Texidor (Manuel) of Conroe, TX, Kristie Hamby (Josh) of Apex, NC, and Nathan Corvin of Clay; great-grandchildren, Olivia, Isaac, and Aaron Texidor, all three of Conroe, and Luke Hamby of Apex. Visitation will be 10-11 a.m. on Thursday, February 28, 2019 at Ridout’s Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham, AL, immediately followed by a Celebration of Richard’s Life at 11 a.m. at the funeral home’s chapel. Burial will be at Elmwood Cemetery, Birmingham. Rev. Nancy Harper will officiate.
Published in The Birmingham News on Feb. 27, 2019
Our next meeting will be Monday March 11, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at the Southern Company Services/Southern Nuclear offices at the Colonnade. We are delighted to have as Keynote Speaker Dr. Larry DeLucas, who flew on the Columbia Space Shuttle as a NASA payload specialist astronaut. Dr. DeLucas will discuss some of his structural biology research projects and biotechnology inventions. He will describe how he began working with NASA performing microgravity protein crystallization experiments on the US Space Shuttle. He will also describe his experience flying in 1992 on the Columbia Space Shuttle as a NASA payload specialist astronaut. This will include a review of his selection by NASA, the required two-year training program, the launch, landing and research performed on his 14-day mission. Dr. DeLucas’ presentation will conclude with a summary of current research underway on the International Space Station and NASA’s plans for a future astronaut mission to Mars.
