Barbara Marie Midgley McCullough

She was born on February 16th, 1917 in Hazel Hill, Nova Scotia. She was the daughter of Edward and Georgianna Midgley. Her father’s work took the family to Staten Island, NY when she was 7 weeks old. She graduated from Curtis High School on Staten Island, attended Pratt Institute in NYC (studying fashion design) and graduated from Brandon Secretarial School. After she retired, she attended Christopher Newport University in Newport News, VA (studying photography and business).

She was introduced to her husband, Robert, by friends in Staten Island, where he was working at The Marine Hospital. She was employed as a medical assistant/office manager for a female family physician at the time. They were married on August 16, 1941 in Staten Island.

During Mr. McCullough’s time in service (US Army Air Corps, then the US Air Force) and afterwards when he worked for both the Army and Air Force as a civilian, they lived in Homestead, FL, Vardaman, MS, Oxford, MS, Alexandria, VA, San Bernardino, CA, Staten Island, NY, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Kinross, MI, Salisbury, MD, Princess Anne, MD, Dover, DE, Suitland, MD, Wheaton, MD, Severna Park, MD and eventually settled in Laurel, MD. Mr. McCullough retired at the rank of Master Sergeant. He served during World War II in Europe and worked as a civilian for the Army for 2.5 years in Vietnam during the Viet Nam War.

During their marriage, she was always a working mother, and held various administrative positions with a number of military and government agencies. After her husband’s death in 1972, she moved to Newport News, VA and was employed at Fort Monroe, VA where she worked until she retired. Her career activities varied greatly, and included investigating UFOs on the US/Canada border, tracking military domestic violence incidents, personnel management, helping servicemen apply for college after the Vietnam War, and serving as an administrative officer coordinating with foreign officers for the US Army.

After retiring, she also lived in Columbia, SC and Hickory, NC for short periods and finally moved to Cary, NC where she lived for 26 years. She enjoyed her retirement, spending time doing hobbies (photography and needlework), volunteering at the hospital and with her church newsletter, attending concerts and plays, and keeping up with friends and family. She had a great fondness for smallish dogs (especially Baby Stanley and Abby at Glenaire).

She will be remembered as a caring and devoted matriarch, very involved with and proud of her family. She was understanding, good natured, generous of her time and talents and made every effort to give her family a good life. We will all miss her sweet smile and melodious voice.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Robert E. McCullough, three brothers, David Midgley (Claire) who was an executive for TWA, William Midgley (Mary), who was a vice president for New York Life, and John Midgley (Bunny), who was an executive for Boeing, and one sister, Margaret Nelson (Archie), who worked at Chase Manhattan in NYC.

She is survived by three sons Kenneth (Lynn Nankivil), Winona, MN, John (Christine de Visser), N. Bethesda, MD, and James (Georganne), Beltsville, MD; two daughters Georgie Stone (Wayne), State Road, NC, and Claire, Cary, NC; nine grandchildren: Galway McCullough, Orion McCullough-Smith, Mariah Klein (Alan), Robert Stone (Katie), Whitney Cherry (Trey), Brian McCullough (Jennifer), Grace Greenwell (Ben), Kelly Orta (Adrian), and Timothy McCullough; six great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank the staff of Glenaire for their dedicated and caring attention during Mrs. McCullough’s 11 years at Glenaire. They would especially like to acknowledge the support and love provided to her during the time she lived in Cary by her daughter Claire.

Memorial contributions may be made by check to The Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church, 200 High Meadow Dr., Cary, NC 27511 or The Presbyterian Homes Foundation, 2109 Sandy Ridge Rd, Colfax, NC 27235 (designated for Glenaire in her honor).

Arrangements are being made by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 on Saturday, October 29, 2016 at the Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church in Cary. Her ashes will be placed, along with those of her husband, in the church columbarium.