Paul J. McNamee Obituary (1924 - 2022)

Paul J. McNamee, Jr., age 97 of Bloomington, died at 11:20 a.m., Sunday, February 27, 2022, at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Friday, March 11, 2022 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Bloomington, with Rev. Jeffrey Stirniman, Monsignor Douglas Hennessy and Rev. William Traylor concelebrating. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Normal. Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, March 10, 2022 at Carmody-Flynn Funeral Home, Bloomington with the rosary recited at 4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Holy Trinity Church or to the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Born in Wilmette, Illinois on June 25, 1924, Paul was the firstborn of four children of Paul J. and M. Lucille Hayden McNamee. In the early 1930s, the McNamee family moved to South Bend, Indiana, which became Paul's hometown. He completed all of his schooling there, interrupted only by a three-year stint in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, 1943 to 1946, including 27 months overseas in Europe, serving in England and Germany. Upon returning home, he completed college, graduating from the University of Notre Dame in 1949. In January of 1951, Paul, with his parents, moved to the family farm near Towanda, Illinois, where he farmed. In late 1952 he met Suzanne J. Hanley and they were married on October 10, 1953 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. They were married just short of 57 years prior to Suzanne's death on June 12, 2010. Suzanne and Paul were parents to eight children, four sons and four daughters. Their firstborn son died in infancy. Paul is survived by his seven children, Catherine Fay and husband, Jon, Naples, FL; Mary Bower and husband, David, Evansville, IN; Lucy Smith and husband, Peter, Statesville, NC; Paul McNamee and wife, Michelle, Bloomington, IL; Peter McNamee and wife, Shannon, Kalispell, MT; Daniel McNamee and wife, Eva, Azusa, CA; and Maggie Jefferson, Bloomington, IL. He is survived by 15 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and a brother, Peter F. McNamee and his wife, Mary, Bloomington, IL. Paul was preceded in death by his parents, infant son Paul, his wife Suzanne, sisters Mary Lucille McNamee and Ann Marie McNamee McCarthy, and her husband, John M. McCarthy. After only a few years farming, Paul joined State Farm Insurance, retiring in 1987 after 31 years of service. But of all his endeavors in life, the primary and most important one was the family he and Suzanne shared. His love of her; his love of their children, grandchildren; and great-grandchildren and his devotion to that family; these were his greatest blessings. Extremely proud of his Irish ancestry, as was Suzanne of hers, a plaque by the front door of their home read: "There's a wee bit of Heaven in our Irish home." We pray that our beloved father and grandfather may now rest in the peace and joy of heaven with his Irish bride, Suzanne.