Hugh McGeehan Obituary

A kind, brilliant man of great integrity, Hugh Patrick McGeehan, died peacefully Tuesday, surrounded by family and several friends. His bravery in the face of a long series of illnesses has been inspiring to those who knew him. Born March 30, 1923, in Bayonne, New Jersey, Hugh spent his youth in Depression-era New York City, enjoying sandlot baseball and excelling as a student. He won a full scholarship to St. Peter's Catholic High School in Staten Island. Upon graduation in 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps at age 17 and became an Aviation Cadet and a flight instructor. In December '43, having volunteered to take another instructor's student to fulfill hours of blind night-flying, an altimeter malfunction resulted in a fiery crash, from which both pilots miraculously survived. Badly burned, Hugh spent three years in various V.A. hospitals, including Fitzsimmons in Denver. After a bout of tuberculosis, Hugh retired from the Air Force as a disabled veteran in 1947. Through the support of the G.I. bill, Hugh attended Cornell University (Phi Sigma Kappa, Class of 1951), and began a business career in New York, including work in data processing for Prudential Insurance. He met Eva Gould during a beach vacation on the Jersey Shore in 1959 and they married and raised four children, eventually settling in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Reston, Virginia. In Washington, Hugh worked for the U.S. Treasury Department, from which he retired in 1987. He and Eva resettled in Colorado Springs in 1989, accompanied by two of their children. Hugh was an avid reader and a lover of the English language. His pastimes included letterpress printing, baseball, photography, and travel. A devoted and loving father, he passed on these interests and his love of learning to his children. Hugh is survived by his wife, Eva Marie (Gould) McGeehan, his children Mary Grace (Saalih Allie), Patrick (Ian Jehle), Tony, and Mollie Willie (Brian), his grandson, Tyler Willie, his brother William (Kay), and his sister Patricia Watts (Thomas), and many nieces, nephews, and loving friends and relatives. A Memorial Service will be held at Benet Hill Monastery on Friday, September 29, at 3:00 pm. There will be a military service early next year at Arlington National Cemetery, his final place of rest. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Benet Hill Monastery or Evercare Hospice.