Obituary of George Stephen Macor

George Stephen Macor (83), passed away at home surrounded by his family on February 5, 2018 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was born in Newark, NJ on March 6, 1934 to Katherine (Pariza) Macor and Joseph Macor. The last of three sons, George was raised in Newark and Union (Union County) along with brothers Joseph and Eugene. Both parents and siblings predeceased George. George was a life-long member of the Roman Catholic Church. His dedication started at St. Michael's Church in Union as an altar boy where he graduated from 8th grade and then from St. Benedict's Prep in Newark in 1951. A brief enrollment in Newark College of Engineering resulted in employment at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ as a junior draftsman. In March, 1953, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and was accepted in the Aviation Cadet Program but unexpected eye problems resulted in a medical disqualification. His four-year enlistment concluded with an Honorable Discharge as Aircraft & Engine mechanic maintaining the B-36 heavy bomber, part of the Strategic Air Command. In 1957, George enrolled at the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana and graduated in 1961 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. After two summer internships, in 1961 he accepted a full-time position with present day Kearfott Corporation of the Astronautics Corporation of America. His career at Kearfott included design, development and testing of a wide spectrum of highly precision navigation-related instruments and was awarded several patents for gyroscopes, Kearfott devices that have been used in various Spacecraft, most notable the VOYAGERS (still functioning, launched in 1977), TRIDENT SUBMARINE MISSILE SYSTEMS and the SPACE SHUTTLE. Several of these programs required more than a casual interest in astronomy and George enjoyed sharing related literature and discussions with his peers and family members. George met the love of his life, Judith Grace Lehmann in 1959 between his sophomore and junior years at Notre Dame and they married in May, 1962. The Macors lived in Bloomfield for 10 years and were active members of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Bloomfield, where George served as a lector at Sunday Mass and was active in the parish social affairs. Seeking more family living space, they moved to Warren, NJ in 1974 where George and his family resided until his passing. In December 1984, George became ill with a very rare virus, Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), with an annual incidence of 3-4 in 100,000 of the United States Population. His 50-60% recovery started in Muhlenberg Hospital, Plainfield, NJ, after weeks in ICU and private room residence until April, 1985, followed by seven months of therapy at the Kessler Institute in West Orange, NJ. It should be noted that Estelle and Robert Benson (also a GBS victim) had started a GBS support group, now grown to GBS/CIDP FOUNDATION INTERNATIONAL, which provided educational information not readily available in standard medical literature. Judy and George later served several years on the Board of Directors. After extensive outpatient therapy, George returned to Kearfott in January, 1988 on a part-time basis, eventually becoming again a full-time employee. Because of the GBS residuals, George's activity focused more in research and required extensive computer use especially with spreadsheet databases. The power of the computer also stimulated his life-long interest in sports including a comprehensive database of Notre Dame Football. The data was developed with macro-driven Excel spreadsheets and transferred to the website in html format by his son-in-law Paul Mitchell, who is its creator. The website is georgemacor.com. For quite some time, George was active with the Notre Dame Club of Central New Jersey. He was instrumental in making Notre Dame license plates available in New Jersey and managed the application process until the time of his illness. In addition to Judy, his wife of 56 years, he leaves his daughters, Ellen Reilly and husband Thomas, Alison Macor and husband Paul Mitchell, Elizabeth Groupp and husband Jason, granddaughters Kiera Reilly, Gia Reilly and Phoebe Groupp and grandsons Thomas Reilly, Truman Mitchell and Eli Groupp and numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held on Friday, February 9, 2018 at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Boulevard, Watchung, NJ 07069 from 4-8 p.m. Funeral services will begin at 12 noon Saturday, at the funeral home followed by a 1 p.m. funeral mass at Our Lady of the Mount Church, 167 Mount Bethel Road, Warren, NJ 07059. A mass will also be celebrated at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame by Father Nicholas Ayo, CSC, a relative and former classmate. For further information please contact Higgins Home for Funerals at 908-756-0017. Cremation and interment will be held privately. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) of Somerset Hills (www.visitingnurse.org), or St. Benedict's Prep, 520 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Newark, NJ 07103.