Sophomore year at George Washington University was a tough one for Doug MacCormack. Having transferred to the Washington D.C. school long after most of his classmates had already bonded, the Secaucus native casually admitted to his father, Frank, that he was having trouble making friends.
“I told my dad there were tons of people all around me, but I didn’t know anybody. One Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m., I get a knock on my door and my father’s there.”
Doug, now 43, recalled last week how he and his father spent the day together. Frank sat in on his son’s seminars. Afterwards, the two went to a museum, walked around the Mall area, and ended the day sitting behind the Lincoln Memorial as the sun was setting in the distance.
“I remember he just put his arm around me and said, ‘I’m really proud of you and I love you.’ I think it is the greatest memory I have of him.”
This memory, and many others told by his sons, were indicative of Frank MacCormack’s compassion, empathy, and deep devotion to his family. A successful businessman who was active in local politics, MacCormack died of a heart attack on Jan. 11 at the age of 85.
“He was a very ardent supporter of my brother and myself, whether it was in school or sports,” added Doug’s older brother, Frank Jr. “Whatever it was, he was always there for us.”
‘Silent partner’
According to those who knew him, MacCormack had three loves: his family, his business, and his community.
“When I was a kid, he taught me to play baseball and he went to all my Little League games. He used to come home from work with his jacket and tie, and before dinner we would play catch in the back yard. He was my first teacher and my first fan. But he was a silent supporter. He wasn’t one of those rah, rah type of parents who’s always screaming and yelling. He never embarrassed me at a game.”
The back yard practice with Dad paid off. A pitcher, Frank Jr. grew up to play Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and the Seattle Mariners from 1974 to 1978.
Repo man
An Army veteran who served in World War II, MacCormack returned home to land a job with Dealers Acceptance Corporation (DAC), a long-term car leasing company in East Orange. “His job wasn’t only to lease the cars, but his boss would send him out to repossess the cars when the people didn’t make their payments,” Frank Jr. said. “I can actually remember sitting in the back seat of our family car, with my mother and him up front. It would be night, and we would pull down these streets in East Orange and Newark with the lights off. And he would run up to the cars and sneak and take the cars back. My mother would then drive the family car back home.”
MacCormack’s wife, Gloria, soon had her fill of midnight repos and pressured her husband to find another line of work.
While still working for DAC, MacCormack attended night school for six months to earn an insurance license and in 1965 opened the MacCormack Insurance Agency.
The business would prove successful, and for 22 years MacCormack’s agency, was the town insurer.
When Frank Sr. stepped down as president of the agency he left his sons in charge of day-to-day operations. Today Frank Jr., 55, is president while his brother Doug serves as vice president.
Secaucus government watchdog
Born in Jersey City, MacCormack lived in Secaucus for 70 years and was passionate about his adopted hometown. He was active in many civic organizations, including the local Rotary Club and the Hudson Masonic Lodge. He also served on the board of the Secaucus Housing Authority for several years, was president of the Secaucus Board of Education, and was the longtime chairman of the Secaucus Republican Committee.
MacCormack ran for elected office several times. He ran for mayor and ran for a state senate seat.
“You know, he ran on a ticket with my father – then ran against me twice for mayor,” Dennis Elwell said last week. “He cared about this community and even when he was critical of me, there was never any animosity behind it. He was always a gentleman.”
MacCormack didn’t win any of his races, but seemed to embrace the role of local government watchdog. He attended nearly every Town Council meeting and asked meticulous questions about the use of taxpayer money.
“When he lost those races, I really saw it as the taxpayers of Secaucus losing, because that’s who he looked out for,” said Evelyn Sabol Benyo, a former resident who knew MacCormack through the local Republican Party.
It’s unclear whether MacCormack still had political aspirations. But his sons said they found a list of campaign slogans in a desk drawer they went through after Frank Sr. died.
They don’t know if he planned to pass the slogans on to another candidate – or use them in a future race of his own.
“Maybe he had another race in him,” said Frank Jr., who is friends and golfing buddies with Elwell.
Blame the Giants?
According to his sons, MacCormack’s last day was typical.
A winter storm had left a blanket of snow over Secaucus, and like other residents, MacCormack began his day shoveling.
Later MacCormack, a passionate New York Giants fan, watched the team’s playoff match against the Philadelphia Eagles. Had the Giants won, the team would have had a good chance of making it to the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.
“The Giants lost,” Doug said. “Our mother said he was pretty upset about that. Maybe that’s what did him in!” Both Doug and Frank Jr. laughed at the thought that Big Blue’s lackluster performance on the gridiron led to their father’s demise.
The brothers said their father went quickly and peacefully.
“The doctors told us he didn’t suffer or feel any pain,” Doug added.
MacCormack, who was buried last Thursday, is survived by his two sons, three grandchildren, two brothers, a sister, and Gloria, his wife of 58 years.