James Mac Wilmer McSwiney

Born November 13, 1915 in McEwen Tennessee, James ("Mac") was the son of Delia Margaret Conroy and James Speedy McSwiney. He graduated from Hume Fogg High School in Nashville. In 1932 he joined the Mead Corporation, becoming a lab technician in a local Mead Paper Mill. He was paid $16 per week. Mac would go on to work for the Mead Corporation for 50 years.

On December 14, 1940 he married the girl next door, Jewell Allen Bellar and they started on a 71 year journey together until she preceded him in death July 12, 2012.

Following marriage, Mac started to gain different experiences at Mead. He worked at the Harriman plant as office manager, journeyed to Rockport Indiana to start up an old straw paper mill, and then went to Kingsport Tennessee to work in Mead’s white paper operations plants.

During World War II, Mac applied and was accepted into an Army Flight Training Program, designed to train instructors for Glider Pilots. Mac was trained and in due time received a commercial pilots license. During this period he and Jewell had two children, Charles Ronald, born in April 1943 and Margaret Ann born in November 1944.

In early 1945, Tom Fernald in Nashville told him of a partnership the Mead and Scott paper companies had in Brunswick, GA. He thought Mac would be a good fit as assistant Secretary and Treasurer. Mac always described the next 10 years with Brunswick Pulp and Paper as a very happy period in the family’s life. This move was the first step in establishing their long time home in the Golden Isles. Mac and Jewell loved to play golf and enjoyed the hunting and fishing and beauty of a place jointly owned by Mead and Scott called Cabin Bluff.

During this period, Alfred W. Jones, Sr. , who was a brother in law of George Mead and a director of both Mead and Brunswick Pulp, became a very good friend and an admired mentor. It was with Mr. Jones' encouragement that Mac was asked to move to Dayton Ohio (Mead Headquarters ) to be an Assistant to the President of Mead. Around that time, Mac attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard, a formative experience in his career.

Over the next two decades, Mac became the Executive Vice President of Mead in 1963 and President in 1968 and ultimately CEO and Chairman of the Board. Under his leadership, Mead grew into a Fortune 100 company. Beyond the growth and financial results, Mac and Mead were leaders in other ways. Mac invited Barbara Jordan to the Mead board – and having a woman and an African American on the board was truly progressive in the 1970s. Mac and the Mead Corporation – despite being a paper company -- were also early leaders in digital. Mead acquired and grew LexisNexis during his tenure. LexisNexis was one of the earliest information businesses and has become a leader in the information industry. Mead and Mac also founded a joint venture with Kodak to establish an ink jet printing business. Mac had a vision of the digital world that proved prescient.

Mac also had a tremendous sense of the importance of contributing to the community. He had a lifelong dedication to education and particularly contributed to the development of Sinclair Community College in Dayton, the University of Dayton, and Wright State University. He received honorary degrees from all three institutions. Other important contributions were to the development of Research Park in Dayton.

During all of their time in Dayton, the family continued to return to Brunswick, St. Simons and Jekyll islands for vacation. They built a home on Sea Island on 13th Street in 1980, a few years before Mac’s retirement from Mead. This home and later their home in Ocean Forest became the place where the family gathered and remained connected despite being spread across the country. Mac – who traveled the world – always said there was no better place in the world than the Golden Isles.

During "retirement", Mac continued to work and contribute to his community – serving on the Sea Island company board, working with the College of Coastal Georgia and with the South East Georgia Medical Center.

Mac’s survivors include his son Charles Ronald McSwiney ( Jane ) of St. Simons; his daughter Margaret Ann Hutchinson of Sea Island and Decatur , GA. He found great joy in his entire family, two grandsons , Richard Hutchinson ( Lesley) of Atlanta and Scott Hutchinson ( Emily ) of Denver, Colorado and in the last 14 years the arrival of two great grandsons , Will and Alec, sons of Rich and Lesley and two great granddaughters , Audrey and Hattie , daughters of Scott and Emily . He is also survived by 10 dear nieces and nephews including Charles Goodwin ( Kathleen ) of Placitas , NM, Carol and Sue McSwiney of Nashville, TN, Jim McSwiney ( Ellen ) of Atlanta, Linda McSwiney of Raleigh, NC , Jim McSwiney ( Jodie) of Dayton, Ohio, Larry McSwiney ( Susan ) of Cincinnati, Jeff McSwiney of Covington , Pam Miefert ( Steve) of Covington and Gary McSwiney ( Yung Oak ) of Korea. He was predeceased by his parents Delia and James, brothers Gene and Ben and nephew Ben.

The family would like to thank some of the people who have taken such loving care of their (great) (grand) father over the years who include Trinette Mitchell, Christena Warren, Lois Mason, Donnie Banks, Jasmine Kirksey and Linda Clark as well as most recently the Hospice of the Golden Isles. Special thanks to Bernard McCloud and all of the staff at Ocean Forest who have always done so much for Dad.

Visitation will be from 3:30 to 5:30 Friday afternoon at Edo Miller Funeral Home. A graveside service will be held at Christ Church Cemetery on Saturday, June 25, 2016 at 11:00 am with the Reverend Bill Henderson officiating.