Michael Bailey McCartney, known by family and friends as M.B., died on July 25, 2022, at home. He was a loving father of three, grandfather of eight, great grandfather of two, and devoted husband for 57 years to his beloved wife, Jane who preceded him in death in 2013.
Born in Gadsden, Alabama on April 2, 1934, Mike attended the Baylor School in Chattanooga from 8th through 12th grade. He graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University) in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. Post-graduation he worked with the Florida State Road Department as an engineer in training and later as a project engineer. He later joined Cone Brothers Contracting Company of Tampa, Florida, one of the largest highway construction companies in the State of Florida at the time. There he served as superintendent of asphalt plants and paving operations. In 1962, he returned to Gadsden to join his father, M. H. McCartney to operate family-owned McCartney Construction Company, Inc. and Calhoun Asphalt Company, Inc. that operated from 1945 until 2018.
Mr. McCartney was president of the Alabama Asphalt Pavement Association (1974) and the Alabama Roadbuilders Association (1975); State Director for the National Asphalt Pavement Association; Director of The Road Information Program (T.R.I.P.); a founding Board Member of the National Center for Asphalt Technology at Auburn University; Lifetime member of the Auburn University Alumni Engineering Council, and a Board Member of the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. Mr. McCartney was instrumental in bringing the National Center for Asphalt Technology (N.C.A.T.) to the Auburn University campus in 1986.
Mr. McCartney served as a member of the Auburn Board of Trustees for 14 years (1979-1993), five of them as the President Pro Tem. He received many honors from his alma mater including an honorary membership from Chi Epsilon Engineering Society; Auburn Engineering Alumni Council’s Distinguished Auburn Engineer Award (1993); and Auburn’s highest honor, a Doctor of Science Degree (Honoris Causa) (1994). He was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame (1998) and the Alabama Roadbuilders Hall of Fame in (2008).
Mr. McCartney was strongly committed to civic responsibility and served his community in several capacities, including as a member of the Board of Stewards at the First United Methodist Church; Board Member of the Etowah Chamber of Commerce; member of the Metropolitan Planning Commission; Chairman of the Etowah County Tourism Board; and Captain of the Gadsden Quarterback Club (1982).
He is survived by his children Michael Henry McCartney (Lisa), John Timothy McCartney (Laura) and Carol McCartney Keasler; grandchildren Frances Delight McCartney, Natalie Jane McCartney Colegrove (Sam), Michael Bailey McCartney II, William Timothy McCartney (Kathryn Johnson), Molly Alma McCartney Mathews (Alex), Mary Margaret McCartney, and John Patrick Baker; great-grandchildren Michael David and Gabriel Jonathan Colegrove; former wife, Virginia Sams Muse McCartney; former daughter in law Joy Brannon McCartney, former son-in-law Kenny Ray Baker, and nephew Dr. Ben Wouters. M.B. was preceded in death by his wife Jane Bottoms McCartney, parents Michael Henry McCartney and Mattie Esslinger McCartney, grandson John Ledyard McCartney, and nephew Dr. Erich Wouters.
The family will receive friends on Friday, July 29, 2022, at 12:00 noon prior to the service which will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Gadsden. Burial will be at Forrest Cemetery. Rev. Harvey Beck, and Rev. Chette Williams will officiate the service. Collier-Butler Funeral and Cremation Services is directing. Flowers are welcome or in lieu of flowers a memorial may be made to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University or a charity of your choice.
Pallbearers will be Mayor Larry Means, Dr. Barry Heywood, Mr. Charles Pullin, Mr. Mike Strawn, Mr. Whit Torbert, Mr. Jon Waggoner. Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Barry Heywood, Mr. Bobby Lowder, Mr. Robert Davidson, Dr. Chris Roberts, Dr. Larry Benefield, Mr. David Housel, and Dr. Gerald Leischuck, Mr. Tim Jackson, Mr. Rob Wellbaum.
The family wishes to convey thanks to Mr. McCartney’s long time caregivers, Mrs. Glenda Hester and Shirley Handford, their assistants, and Southern Care New Beacon Hospice; long time employees Mrs. Kathi Canada and Mr. Mike Strawn; the hundreds of former employees of McCartney Construction Company, Inc. and Calhoun Asphalt Company, Inc.; highway construction industry friends and Alabama Department of Transportation professionals that M.B. worked with for 61 years; former classmates of the Baylor School in Chattanooga; and all classmates, friends, alumni, and fans of his beloved Auburn University.
