John Douglass McGrew
John Douglass McGrew passed away peacefully at his home in Devola on Thursday, June 5, 2014. Doug was born in Washington, PA on November 20th, 1927. He was the son of Virginia Clair McGrew and Wilbert Bennett. Following his parent’s death, he was adopted and raised by his maternal grandparents, Emmett and Lyda McGrew.
Doug became involved with the Boy Scouts of America and went on to earn the distinction of an Eagle Scout and a member of the Order of the Arrow. He became a Scoutmaster for a troop in Charleston, West Virginia.
Doug graduated from East Washington High School in Washington, PA and entered the US Navy to serve upon graduation. After serving in WWII, Doug graduated from Washington & Jefferson College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry and also graduated from MIT with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering.
Upon graduation, Doug worked for Union Carbide Corporation initially in South Charleston, West Virginia. In 1969, Doug became the Assistant Plant Manager for the Union Carbide plastics plant in Marietta, Ohio. Doug became involved in data processing while in its infancy and a year after moving to Marietta, was promoted to the Director of Communication and Computing for Union Carbide Corporation at their corporate office in New York, NY.
He retired from Union Carbide Corporation in 1983. And from 1985 to 1995, he taught Computer Science and worked in Leadership Program at Marietta College. In retirement, Doug became very active in the Senior Core of Retired Executives (SCORE) and consulted with businesses in the development of their data processing systems. He was a member of Kiwanis and of Christ United Methodist Church where he was a long time teacher of an adult Sunday school class.
Doug married Kim Sanford of Wilmington, Delaware on August 7, 1954 in Charleston, West Virginia. Doug was an incredible father and husband and will be forever remembered with affection by his wife, children and children’s spouses Sarah, Ginny, Robert and Jennifer , Duncan and Nancy as well as his grandchildren Mohammed, Hamza, Saratu, Clinton, Grant, Owen, Matthew and John.
In his honor, please make donations to the John D and Kim S McGrew Scholarship at Marietta College, Attn: Advancement Office, 215 5th Street, Marietta, OH 45750.
A memorial service for Doug will be held on Sunday, July 13, 2014 at 2:00 pm at Christ United Methodist Church. McClure-Schafer-Lankford Funeral Home is assisting the family.