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DR. JAMES G. McCUE, JR.

Written by James G. McCue, III

Dear Friends,

I have some sad news to share with you. My father, Dr. James G. McCue Jr., passed away June 2. It was an exceptionally peaceful and quick death. He had gone to the chiropractor for some pain he had been having in his knee. After the treatment, he was resting on the table in the recovery room. Joking with one of the ladies who worked there, he said, "Could you please dim the lights, I need all the beauty sleep I can get," and went to sleep.

I pray that each of us can have as easy a way to go. "Leave 'em laughing," he always said.

Following is the obituary I wrote for the Idaho Falls Post Register:

James G. McCue, Jr., 78, of Idaho Falls, died June 2, 1998, at Columbia Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls. He was born March 10, 1920, in the village of Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island, Maine to James G. McCue, Sr. and Laura Tracy McCue. After receiving a classical education at St. John's Preparatory School in Danvers, MA and intensive summer schooling from his father in horseshoe pitching, fishing and horology (antique clock repair), he went on to earn his degree in general dentistry from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1944. While in dental school he met Phyllis Monson of Cottage Grove, OR, and they were married on September 18, 1943.

After graduation the young couple moved to Winfield, KS, where Dr. McCue began practicing dentistry with his uncle, Charles McCue. He completed his military obligation during the Korean War as a Major at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, WY from 1951 to 1953. During this time the McCues took the opportunity to scout out an ideal place to settle permanently in the Rocky Mountain West, which they had come to love. Once they determined that Idaho Falls was the place, they never thought of living anywhere else.

Dr. McCue practiced dentistry in Idaho Falls from 1953 until his retirement in 1989. He served the Upper Snake River District Dental Society in many capacities, including President in 1977-78. "Doc" McCue always said that it was important to balance your life with things other than work, and he took his own advice. It would be hard to list all of his "non-work" activities, but it would be fair to say that most of them revolved around his love of the great outdoors: fly fishing, hunting, writing and photographing these activities, as well as the conservation efforts that any true outdoors man understands is the key to preserving these gifts for posterity.

In the late 1950's, with the help of friends who were professional fish and game biologists, he became the first person to raise sage grouse in captivity. He was particularly proud of his involvement in the founding of Upper Snake River Chapter of Trout Unlimited, and his opposition to the construction of the ill-fated Teton River Dam.

He was pleased to be nearly as good at fly fishing as his wife and enjoyed using the flies she tied. He was also a founding member of The German Shorthaired Pointer Club of East Idaho, participated in the state and national organizations for many years, and had several Field Champions to his credit as a breeder and trainer. And then there was horseshoes. He was the editor for "Four Dead!", the Idaho Horseshoe Pitchers' Association magazine. He got a particularly big kick out of having won 2nd place in the 1997 Idaho State Horseshoe Tournament, 60 years to the day after winning 2nd place in the Maine State Horseshoe Tournament. He claimed he was improving and was looking forward to the 1998 tournament. For many years he was an active member of Holy Rosary Parish, and at the time of his death was a parishioner of Christ the King Parish.

Survivors include his wife, Phyllis Monson McCue of Idaho Falls; his son, James G. McCue III, and daughter-in-law, Mary Campbell McCue, both of Fremont, CA; five grandchildren: James G. McCue IV, Katherine Sarah McCue, John Zachary McCue, Kevin Campbell McCue and Maureen Clare McCue; and two great-granddaughters: Sarah Kathleen McCue and Kayleigh Rose McCue. Dr. McCue is also survived by his sister, Carolyn McCue McElhinney, and brother-in-law, Joseph S. McElhinney, Jr., both of Boise; and numerous nieces, nephews, and grand nieces and nephews. Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated on Saturday, June 6, at 10:00 a.m. at Christ the King Church, 1690 E. 17th St., Idaho Falls. Burial will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery, Northeast Harbor, ME. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to Holy Rosary School, 161 9th St., Idaho Falls, 83402.

James G. McCue, III

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