Edna "Gae" McCord

Edna “Gae” McCord died March 22, 2014 at Providence Hospital in Novi. Gae, the daughter of Milton and Velma Bell Obee, was born May 22, 1926 in Toledo. Cheerful, creative, and energetic, Gae was an innovator in the arts, education and health-care. She was a founding member of the Plymouth Arts Council and Furman (University) Learning in Retirement Program (FULIR, renamed Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) in Greenville, S.C. She was originator of Fox Run YOU, a community-based continuing education program targeting residents of the Fox Run adult-living complex in Novi. She also served on the boards of St. Joseph Hospital in Ann Arbor and Fox Run’s Renaissance Gardens. On the Ides of March 1946, Gae married her Bryan, Ohio high school sweetheart and returning infantryman, Denver Paul McCord. Together, they attended the Ohio State University. The couple eventually moved to Plymouth, where they raised four children, and suffered and survived the loss of a fifth, Matthew, aged 2, in Scottsdale, AZ, where the family lived 1963-64. Certainly, this tragedy energized Gae’s interest in the arts and her compassion for others. “Perhaps her real, true passion was for humanity—for people: all kinds of people,” according to her son, Bill, a teacher at Novi High School. “I've never known anyone who had so many good friends from so many different parts of the world.” In 1979, Gae and Denver retired to Keeowee Key, S.C., near the water, with warmer winters; however, Denver had a series of debilitating conditions dating from the Battle of Bulge, and was in decline for several years. Gae’s opinion was, “Us two old duffers have been through a lot together, and we will go through whatever else life has in store for us together.” After Denver’s death in 1994, Gae moved to Greenville, where she was active at the Peace Center for Performing Arts and FULIR. In 1999, to be closer to her sons, Andy and Bill and their families, she moved to Fox Run. In October 2012, she suffered another loss when Andy died of cancer. This year, Gae had experienced a period of good health and unusually high spirits when she was taken to the hospital on the night of March 21; there, she recovered somewhat, and was quite lucid before falling asleep; her heart failed around dawn. Gae is survived by sons Patrick (Tish) McCord of Bridgeport, CT, and William (Tracy) McCord of Plymouth; daughter Martha (William) Nedzel of Columbia, S.C.; sister Nancy (Robert) Cooper of Plymouth; daughter-in-law Joanna Firestone McCord and grandson Matthew Denver McCord, a student at Ohio Wesleyan University (son of Andy and Joanna) of New Hudson; and grandchildren Casey and Maria McCord of Plymouth. A memorial gathering will be held at Fox Run’s Belmont Clubhouse from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Friday, for the convenience of her friends at Fox Run. Following a visitation hour from 10-11 a.m. Saturday, a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Plymouth. There will be a visitation period following the service as well. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to her favorite charity, Doctors Without Borders in memory of her compassionate spirit.