He was born in Lumberton, NC on September 8, 1924 - the oldest son of P.A. and Isolene McDuffie. Upon graduating from high school he was employed by the FCX Feed and Seed Company as a stock clerk and salesman, but an early boss saw greater potential in him and urged him to enroll at N.C. State College. He graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering after only three years and during his college tenure served as the Sports Editor of both the student newspaper, The Technician, and the yearbook, The Agromeck, as well as working part-time as a reporter for the Associated Press. His love for N.C. State was second only to his love of his family.
Although trained as an engineer, he took a job with The News & Observer as a reporter following graduation and ultimately rose to the position of Assistant Sports Editor for the paper. He loved sports and writing but felt a desire to work as an engineer also. After two years with the paper he left to become a resident engineer with Ebasco Services. He joined Carolina Power & Light in 1970. He began his career constructing coal-fired power plants and by the time he retired in 1989 he held the position of Senior Vice President - Special Nuclear Projects responsible for the construction and operation of CP&L's nuclear generating plants including the H.B. Robinson Power Plant in Hartsville, SC, the Brunswick Nuclear Generating Station in Southport, NC and the Shearon Harris Power Plant in Moncure, NC.
With Mac's passing the world lost a true renaissance man. He was a gifted engineer responsible for building technological marvels who equally enjoyed playing with toy dump trucks with his grandsons on the den floor. He was shy and retiring if asked to speak in public, but a wonderful communicator in writing who faithfully authored a weekly newsletter to his children for over thirty years without missing a single week. He was capable of provoking laughter and bringing a reader to tears in a single paragraph. He was a faithful and stalwart member of Ridge Road Baptist Church. More than anything he was a beloved son, husband, father, and grandfather – and in only the few hours since his passing is already missed more than he would have ever imagined.
Mac was preceded in death by his parents, his younger sister Ella Ruth Sprague and his younger brother, Billy McDuffie.
He is survived by his wife, Jackie, his daughter Nancy and Terry Cox (Murfreesboro) and their son Thomas, daughter Jane and Wick Smith (Fayetteville) and their son Wick and his wife Becky, son David and Allison McDuffie (Virginia Beach) and their children Meredith and Stanton, and daughter Norma McDuffie and Sid White (Rock Hill, SC), and his sister-in-law Lydia McDuffie (Hendersonville, TN).
A funeral service and celebration of his life will be held on Friday, June 8, 2018 at 2 PM at Ridge Road Baptist Church followed by fellowship with the family and a graveside service at Raleigh Memorial Park.
In life, Mac was generous beyond words and so in lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Ridge Road Baptist Church, 2011 Ridge Rd. Raleigh, NC 27607, online at www.rrbch.com, or your preferred charity.
Arrangements by Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, 300 Saint Mary's Street Raleigh, NC.
