Fewer Edmund McGee
Col. McGee died Thursday, July 25, 2013 in Austin, Texas.
McGee was born on April 25, 1920 in Worcester, Mass. He attended Massachusetts State Teachers College before entering the Army Air Corps in 1942. Following World War II, he graduated from Massachusetts State Teachers College and completed graduate work at George Washington University. He married Rita C. Reilly on Sept
. 8, 1951. She preceded him in death on June 6, 1992. He married Betty Murphy on Oct. 10, 2000. He served in the United State Air Force, retiring from Bergstrom Air Force Base in 1971 and had been a resident of Austin and, later, Lockhart.
He was a member of the 91st Bomb Group Memorial Association, the Lockhart Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Disabled American Veterans Association.
He was a U.S. Air Force command pilot and veteran of World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. During World War II, he was a B-17 pilot, assigned to the 324th Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group (H), Eighth Air Force. Following World War II, he also served with the Fifth and Twentieth Air Forces of the Strategic Air Command and the Twelve Air Force of the Tactical Air Command during a twenty-nine year military career. He was a former Prisoner of War (POW). He also served as a certified peace officer and certified corrections officer with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office before retiring in 1990.
His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation Ribbon, the Army Commendation Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with four oak leaf clusters, the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Award and the Armed Forces Reserve Medal.
His survivors include his wife, Betty McGee, of Lockhart; his sons, Edmund W. McGee, of Lubbock and Kevin J. McGee, of Kyle; a step-daughter, Sharon Cook, of Temple; step-sons, John Murphy, of Lockhart, James Murphy, of Austin, and Michael Murphy, of Austin; three granddaughters, Jennifer Bednarz, of Lubbock, Katlyn Pedroza, of Hamburg, Germany, and Danielle Mitchell, of Houston; five great-grandchildren (and two more expected); four step-grandchildren; and three step-great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a brother, Mark McGee, of Worcester, Massachusetts.
Recitation of the Holy Rosary was held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 30, 2013, at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 S. Congress Ave. Funeral Mass was held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 31, 2013, at Gift Chapel at Fort Sam Houston Army Base, San Antonio, Texas, with burial following at 11:45 a.m., with full Military Honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 S. Congress, Austin, Texas (512) 442-1446.
