Maurice S. MacArthur, veteran, dedicated coach
Maurice S. “Mac” MacArthur, 93, passed away peacefully Sunday, April 7, 2024, at Manor House in Seaford, where he had lived the past seven years.
Mac’s life centered around his family and friends, serving his community and church, traveling, and sports.
Mac was born in Hancock, Minn., in 1930, and lived in Glendive, Mont., before moving to Brainerd, Minn. He graduated from Brainerd High School and worked briefly in the northern ore mines before joining the U.S. Navy in 1951. He joined to see the world and ended up in Chincoteague, Va. It was fortuitous because he was able to meet his wife, Shirley, during a hitchhike trip to a Salisbury, Md. club.
Mac and Shirley were married in 1954 and took up residence in Seaford. They lived on Fourth Street briefly before moving to Woodside Manor and raised their children, Ron and Mary Jane. A man of many talents, Mac turned an unfinished second floor into bedrooms, doing most of the work on his own.
He retired from Southern States in Seaford, where he worked for more than 30 years, taking early retirement in 1987. In retirement, he became a house painter until Shirley retired from Wilmington Trust in 1992.
Mac was active in youth and adult sports, particularly basketball. He played on a Navy team and on town teams in Seaford and Laurel for many years. It was not unusual for him to score more than 30 points thanks to his famous hook shot.
He helped start the first youth boys’ basketball program in Seaford and also coached All-Star teams. He coached the Nanticoke Major League Yankees with lifelong friend, Lester Nolt, for 25 years when he was honored by the league for his devotion to youth. He also helped his son, Ron, coach the girls’ softball Giants team and granddaughter, Beth. Mac umpired for many years in the parks and recreation men’s slow-pitch softball league. He was named Man of the Year by the Seaford Jaycees. Over the years, he coached hundreds of young men who still look back on their days as Yankees with pride. Among the highlights of his sports career was playing against Baltimore Colts legends, including Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry, in benefit basketball games.
When he could no longer play basketball, he took up golf and created a whole new clan of golfing buddies. Mac definitely had a competitive edge, and he usually won any game he played. Mac and Shirley loved to play cards with their wide circle of friends in Seaford and Laurel.
He was an avid fan of the Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Colts and then Ravens, and attended many games at the old and new stadiums over the years. He was also a collector of baseball memorabilia.
Mac was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Seaford. He and Shirley were active members at St. John’s Methodist Church, where he served as an usher and on the Methodist Men, coordinating their benefit dinners.
Each summer, Mac packed up the family station wagon and headed back to his roots in Minnesota to a family cabin on Upper South Long Lake near Brainerd. Without running water or a bathroom, the vacations were always interesting. He also took the family on several trips to places like Mount Rushmore. In retirement, they spent time at the family cabin with his sister, Elaine, and brother, Alan, and Mac helped with renovations to modernize it.
When Shirley retired, they became travelers and spent time with their lifelong friends, Ducky and Jan Waller, at Dodgertown in Florida.
With Shirley doing the needlepoint and Mac the frames, they developed their own cottage industry selling needlepoint at a shop in Fenwick Island.
The family expresses deep gratitude to the loving and caring staff of Manor House and Accent Care Hospice. Manor House staff treated Mac like he was one of their family members.
He is survived by his son, Ron (Kathy) of Lewes; daughter, Mary Jane (Nevin) of Milton, Fla.; granddaughter, Beth Chambers (Eric); great-grandchildren, Colby and Jenna of Seaford, and Adin, stationed at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico; a sister, Elaine Olson of Lake Havasu City, Ariz.; and several nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his wife of 53 years, Shirley; a brother, Alan; mother, Sylvia MacArthur; and father, Maurice A. MacArthur.
For those who wish to call on the family, visitation will be at 1 p.m., Friday, April 19, at St. John’s United Methodist Church, 300 North Pine St., Seaford, with a funeral service beginning at 2 p.m. Burial will be in a family plot in Odd Fellows Cemetery.
Donations in Mac’s honor can be made to ACTS Legacy Foundation, 1001 Middleford Road, Seaford, DE 19973.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mac go to cranstonfuneralhome.com and visit the floral store.
