George R. Magher, Jr.

A Man in Full

September 8, 1940 – April 20, 2020

George Robert Magher, Jr., 79, of Onancock, VA and Washington DC, succumbed to complications resulting from a stroke and heart arrhythmia on April 20, 2020.

Born September 8, 1940 in Orange, New Jersey to George R. and Gladys Magher, he was the second of six siblings. George Jr. or “Rob” as he was known to friends and family, graduated from Bayley-Ellard Catholic High School in 1958 going on to earn a B.A. in Philosophy from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, PA. During summer break Rob put away the books and picked up a hammer, a wrench, a trowel, whatever the lesson required to learn the basics of the various building trades. His father, George Sr., a successful plumbing contractor in NJ and NY saw to it there was no shortage of instructors. After earning his B.A., he began working as a tie salesman at Bamberger’s Department Store, where he advanced quickly and within two years he was put in charge of the entire Men’s Department making him at age 23, the youngest manager in the store’s history. U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia was escalating and he saw an opportunity to challenge himself further. He decided his leadership and organizational skills would be better served “working for Uncle Sam” as he put it. A collapsed lung from a childhood illness would make him ineligible for military service “so why bother them with details”. He convinced the family physician to lose that page of his medical file and was accepted to Officer’s Candidate School in Newport, RI. Commissioned as Ensign, USNR in 1964 his first assignment was on a Destroyer, the USS Phillip DD498 and through his exemplary performance rose to be acting XO on that vessel. He could have remained out of harm’s way, yet he requested numerous transfers for combat duty in Vietnam but his CO had decided he needed him onboard and onboard is where he would stay. When he requested duty "Anywhere in Southeast Asia", his transfer was finally approved. He was now part of the “Brown Water Navy,” operating in the Mekong Delta region. He led a 3 man team hand picked from members of the South Vietnamese forces. “We used Boston Whalers instead of Patrol Boats (PBR’s). We’d strip ‘em down, then reinforce the hull, mount an M-60 on the bow and rig a dual set up of 90hp Johnson outboards on the stern. We could get in places bigger craft couldn’t but even better, we could get out of ‘em before the SHTF! Those Skimmers took one hell of a beating but got us through.” That respect for these boats continued and years later after he retired, he got one. Not for getting somewhere fast but getting nowhere slow. 

In 1968, he left the Navy and while visiting a friend at Walter Reed Army Hospital in D.C., he met Guida Evans, a Red Cross Volunteer and widow with 5 children. Still undaunted, they wed and that marriage spanned the next 30 years until her death in 2005. It was also at that time he began Magher Construction Corp, initially by doing small neighborhood projects which led to building custom homes and finally major commercial building projects. Through steadfast leadership and an insistence on quality work, the company came to play a significant role in the 1980’s real estate development boom around the Washington area. Accepting projects with speculators like the Haft family and Western Development, the company set about renovating and modernizing old shopping centers throughout the DMV. 

But with all his many successes in the business world, one his great joys was his close relationship with the Oblate Sisters of the Most Holy Eucharist living in the convent next to his home in NW DC. He may have been at the helm of a large construction business but to the Sisters, Rob was their guy, be it replacing light bulbs, mending broken windows, installing a new heating system, readings at Sunday mass in the chapel where he was twice married, but more importantly, preventing removal of the convent by interested parties planning on repurposing the property. An obscure line in a will and a fortuitous phone call from a very old lawyer decided once and for all the future of the convent. The Sisters continue to reside there today due to one man’s refusal to never back away from a challenge and a stubborn belief in the right and wrong of things. His strict adherence to honesty, respect for others, perseverance and fairness in dealings with business associates and employees reflected his strong Irish-Catholic faith. A faith he felt he had lost in the war years and struggled the remainder of his life to reconcile this within himself. Yet, he never lost his zest for life and appreciation for the pleasures of family, beginning with the five stepchildren that entered his world from his first marriage and two more from his second. His second marriage to Ernestine brought him renewed joy and re-energized his spirit. They retired from D.C. to their home on the water, with a standing invitation to family and friends to come down and join them for crabbing, fishing, boating, good advice if requested and good cheer out on the waters of Onancock Creek. 

He is survived by his Wife: Ernestine Benedetti Magher, 1 Brother: Michael, 4 Sisters: Nona, Sarah Jane, Gladys & Kathy, 7 Stepchildren: Margherita, Donald, Carla, Paul, Steven, Anthony & Julie, 17 Grandchildren and many, many Great Grandchildren.