Obituary of Maxine Irma McElroy

After a challenging two-year battle with recurring illnesses, Dr. Maxine McElroy died the way she lived, with love, courage, and determination. On March 7, 2015, she passed peacefully in her own bed, at home with her beloved husband Jim (Major General USA Ret. James McElroy) and her treasured view of Mt. Rainer. Maxine was born in Brooklyn, NY, on January 4, 1932, to Lee and Louis Horowitz. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Brooklyn College, and received her PhD from Lehigh University, where her thesis helped pioneer the development of the famous SQ3R method of reading for comprehension and retention. She helped thousands of students and influenced hundreds of teachers during her career. While her children were young, she worked as a fourth grade teacher in the Parkland School District in Pennsylvania. After a move to New Jersey, she worked as a reading specialist for students at Eisenhower Middle School in Bridgewater, and was soon promoted to Supervisor of Instruction-Communication Arts for the entire Bridgewater-Raritan School District in NJ, serving thousands of children in ten elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools. She also taught graduate students as an adjunct professor of education at Kean College in NJ and served as an officer in the NJ branch of the International Reading Association. In 1979, she began a new chapter in her life when she married Jim McElroy, and their incredible love and partnership fulfilled them daily, for 36 years. Maxine and Jim retired from their work as educators and administrators in 1994 and moved to Shelton, WA. Maxine deeply loved her new home in the West. She quickly became an involved, dynamic community member, and served in many ways through the years, including as a founding Elder and Clerk of the Session for Shelton Presbyterian Church; Education Chair for PEO Chapter B; President of the Mason County Library Board; and supported the arts through board service for the Mason General Hospital Arts Commission and the Community Concert Association. Maxine is survived by her brother Jay Horowitz (Rita); her children, Russell Pearce (Michele Hirshman), Debra Pearce-McCall (Scott); Kathy Bedsworth (Mike), Carol Small (Jeff), and Susan Goodin; and her grandchildren: Seth, Kyle, Jacob, Xander, Rachel, Melissa, Christopher, Casey, and Cody. Her family will always remember her exceptional mind and will and her great capacity for love and generosity. A memorial service will be held on March 22 at 1 p.m. at Shelton Presbyterian Church. Donations to honor her memory may be sent to the Dr. Maxine McElroy Education Fund for Women, c/o Shelton Presbyterian Church, P.O Box 2510, Shelton, WA 98584.