Robert Mccormack

Robert J. McCormack, 98, died Thursday, January 5, 2023 at The Wellington Senior Living in St. Paul.

Bob was born February 3, 1924 in Colorado Springs, Colo., to Roswell and Catherine Myrne (Parks) McCormack. While Bob was an infant, his father died of tuberculosis, so Bob returned to his grandparent’s farm in Cherokee, Iowa, where he grew up and attended school. His college education was interrupted by World War II, where Bob served in the Army Air Corps as a navigator on more than 30 bombing missions over German territory. Returning to college after the war, he graduated from the Iowa State University at Ames in 1949. His work as a meat-cutter began soon after but was also interrupted by the Korean War where he served in the Air Force as a radar bombing navigation instructor. Bob returned to Iowa to resume his work as a meat-cutter and later moved his family to Minneapolis, Minn., for better opportunities. He retired in 1992 and moved to Arizona, and after realizing retirement wasn’t for him, went to work for the U. S. Forest Service until he was 82 years old. He moved to Two Harbors, Minn., in 2016 to be closer to family.

Bob was a member of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal (3 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Presidential Unit Citation, the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Medal (4 Bronze Service Stars), and from the French Government, the Chevalier (Knight) of the National Order of Legion of Honor.

Bob was preceded in death by a daughter Karen Harris, grandson Christopher McCormack and step-son Michael Schmit.

He is survived by his daughters Kathleen Lundell, Heidi McCormack, and Sigrid Tornquist; sons Michael, Jon and Lauren (Melissa) McCormack; step-children Marsha Battles and Mark Schmit; many grand- and great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law Paula Brewer and his brother George Brewer.

Services will be held at 2p.m., Saturday January 14, 2023 at Cavallin Funeral Home in Two Harbors, Minn. Burial will be at the family cemetery in Peterson, Iowa. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Airforce, Pooler, Ga., https://www.mightyeighth.org.

Cemetery Information- Oakwood Cemetery