Dr. Richard "Mac" D. McLeary M.D.

Richard D. “Mac” McLeary, M.D., passed away November 16, 2018 at home surrounded by his loving family. He was born on November 13, 1940 to Ralph and Isabelle McLeary in Brookline, Massachusetts, the younger brother of Elizabeth “Betty” McLeary. The family moved to Jackson, Michigan when Mac was 12. Here in Michigan he met Elizabeth E. “Liz” Griffith in high school during a bowling class. As a student at Jackson Community College, Mac was in a serious traffic accident; the care he received sparked his interest in pursuing medicine as a career. His passion for photography—he had been a photographer for his high school newspaper and worked as a photographer for a plastic surgeon taking “before and after” shots—led him to radiology. After Mac completed medical school at the University of Michigan, he and Liz married in 1964. Six years later, they had their first daughter, Erin. Drafted during the Vietnam War, Mac and his family lived from 1971 to 1973 in Charleston, South Carolina where Mac was a U.S. Navy Physician serving at the naval hospital. One of Erin’s earliest memories is Mac extinguishing a small kitchen fire with his dress uniform, an act of valor not wholly recognized by military authorities. The family returned to Ann Arbor, where daughter Susan was born. Soon after Susan’s birth, the family added a 1976 red Fiat Spider, which became the vehicle for long family drives through the Michigan countryside and on which both Erin and Susan learned to operate a throttle, steer without a power assist, and stick shift. Mac remained a performance car enthusiast, flirting with Porsches but always returning to the Fiat, in addition to his life-long passions for photography, nature, and travel. He delighted in trying Ann Arbor’s many international restaurants. Mac’s interests in watch collecting means that every member of his family can tell you the time without checking a phone. Mac was on staff at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital as a radiologist for 30 years, where in addition to serving patients he contributed to research on estimating fetal age and prostate cancer. Mac was also a proud grandfather.

Survivors include his loving wife of 54 years, Liz; daughters Erin (Ian Petrie) McLeary and Susan (Chaad Thomas) McLeary; and grandchildren Iris McLeary, Nevil Petrie, Leda Thomas, and Maceo Thomas. In addition to his parents, Mac was pre-deceased by his sister. Family services are private. Memorials may be made to Ozone House.

Please share a memory of Mac at his online guestbook.