Obituaries
Funeral Set for Thursday for Former Aurora Mayor Al McCoy
Albert McCoy died at the age of 89 on Saturday.
Funeral arrangements for the lifelong Aurora resident, who is being lauded as a visionary for his accomplishments during his tenure as mayor, have been set for Thursday at 11 a.m. at Holy Angels Church, which is located at the corner of Hardin and Lancaster avenues in Aurora. A prayer service has been set for before the mass at 10 a.m.
A visitation is scheduled for 3 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 30, at The Healy Chapel, 332 W. Downer Place in Aurora.
McCoy served as the mayor of Aurora from 1965 to 1977.
He was not only a mayor who had a big vision for the future of Aurora, he was a man always willing to listen to his fellow residents," Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner told the Aurora Beacon News.
"He certainly left big shoes to fill and I'm honored to be one of his successors," Weisner said.
During his tenure as mayor, Aurora annexed 6800 acres of land which gave rise to Aurora's current distinction as the second largest city in Illinois, according to his obituary.
The Aurora Beacon-News reports:
The acquisition, spurred by the prospects of a Fox Valley Freeway once planned along Route 59, is now the site of the Fox Valley Mall and the Fox Valley Villages in DuPage County. A boundary agreement between Naperville and Aurora along Route 59 was one of the outcomes of the mega-annexation and the reason Naperville veers west of Route 59 in several places. The freeway was never built. McCoy Drive on the city's far East Side near the mall was named in the former mayor's honor.
McCoy attended St. Mary's Catholic grade school and graduated from Marmion Academy in 1944. Following his tenure as mayor, he served as the chairman of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission from 1977 to 1998 and was involved in several civic and charitable organizations, according to his obituary.
McCory is being remembered by those closets to him as a truly generous man:
Al McCoy was a self-reliant man, taking care of himself and his entire family right up until his final days. He was a giver in the truest sense of the word, always putting the well being of others before himself. He will be deeply missed by all who had the great fortune to know him.
More via the Aurora Beacon News and McCoy's obituary.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.