James R. McEvoy – 77 – of Hornell, formerly of Almond, died peacefully Monday evening (January 2, 2012) at McAuley Manor following a long illness.
Born in Oswego, NY on January 5th, 1934, he was the son of James & Bernice (Guile) McEvoy. He had resided in the Almond – Hornell area for most of his adult life.
Jim was a graduate of Williamson High School and later graduated from Ithaca College where he majored in Physical Education. For 33 years, he served as a Physical Education Teacher at Alfred-Almond Central School. During that time, Jim also served as soccer coach, basketball coach and track & field coach. His track & field teams earned seven Section V titles. He retired in 1992. In 1997, he was inducted into the Alfred-Almond Sports Hall of Fame and recently was inducted to the Section V Track & Field Hall of Fame.
From 1957 – 1959, Jim served in the US Army, 2nd Calvary Division and had been stationed in Germany. He was a member of the Hornell American Legion, Hornell Association, Hornell Moose Lodge and the Addison Fraternal Order of Eagles. He was a member of Our Lady of the Valley Parish and had been a communicant of St. Ann’s Church.
Surviving are his daughter, Cara (Bob Hinds) Wilkinson of Dansville; 3 sons, Todd (Anna Wright) McEvoy, Ryan McEvoy and Chad McEvoy, all of Raleigh, NC; 1 brother, Gary (Jean) McEvoy of Loveland, CO; 1 sister, Carol Deridder of Greeley, CO; his former wife, Patricia McEvoy of Almond; his special friend, Kathy sexton of Hornell; 3 grandsons; 2 granddaughters; several nieces, nephews & cousins.
The family of James R. McEvoy will receive friends on Friday from 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM at the Dagon Funeral Home, 38 Church St., Hornell, NY where funeral services will be held at 12:00 Noon on Saturday with Deacon Robert McCormick officiating. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery.
Jim’s family request that memorial contributions in his name be made to the Alfred-Almond Alumni Association, C/O Cara Wilkinson, 67 Franklin St., Dansville, NY 14437. Memorial forms will be available at the Dagon Funeral Home.
In honor of Jim’s service to his country while serving in the US Army, the American Flag will be flown at Half-Staff at the Dagon Funeral Home.
My thoughts are with the McEvoy family. Though I was never great in Gym, Mr. McEvoy treated me the same as those who were. I have fond memories of you. Rest in peace.
Thought and prayers are with you and the family! I always remember how shiney you kept your car! Living in Ohio that never seems to happen.
Love you guys Ed,Patsy and Beth Diller
My thoughts and prayers are with the family. We enjoyed Jim alot especially with his cars. I wish we could be with you all in these trying times. Love from the Bohn family
We were saddened to hear of Jim’s passing. He was a great guy and we both enjoyed working with him at A-A.
He had a big heart and loved his family. We have such fond memories of our times with Jim.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you during this difficult time.
We have lost a great man. I have nothing but fond (and hilarious) memories of Coach McEvoy. Thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time…may God comfort you in our loss. And, if you have any special requests for the Alfred Sun, it will be my pleasure to help.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Jim McEvoy who I worked with so many years ago at AACS. May Jim rest in peace.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the entire family. As with many from Alfred-Almond, Jim had such a positive impact on my life. He was a good man.
During my time as a sportswriter for the Evening Tribune, Jim was one of my favorite people to deal with. He was always in a good mood, no matter what the circumstance. When I remember him I will always smile…you can’t leave a better legacy than that.
Jim was a remarkable, funny man. He was always helpful to me, particularly when I was new at AA. Sweet man, with a big heart. He finally yodeled for me one day—such fun. I wish he would have agreed to yodel during a concert sometime!!!! Never know what other gifts our teachers have, you know! He had a way with words and phrases: one day a student asked him “Coach are we swimming today?” Coach said “No, we’re in the pool!” He was always thinking about the next thing happening so words would get turned around. Gotta love our Jim!
First he was Coach McEvoy, Mr. McEvoy and later after A-A Jim! As Coach he invited me into his Office and popped my butt with his famous Ping Pong Paddle for reasons I’m sure were deserving:) In later years we would share a cocktail and many laughs together! RIP Coach! You were one of a kind and I for one will never forget you! Until we meet again my friend!!
My thoughts and prayers go out to the McEvoy family. He was such a huge presence in all of ours lives. He will be missed.
Jim was a greast friend and fellow teacher. We spent many a friday nite together talking about the week in sports at A-A. He was great to work with and one of my closest friends while teaching. Our condolences go out the Cara, Todd,ryan, and Chad and their families and our prayers are with you. I will never foeget our times togehter.
If a man’s value could be counted by the amount of lives he touched, Jim would be a very rich man! Godspeed Coach!
I am so sorry for your loss, the loss of Mr. McEvoy. I remember him as a kind and gracious man as my gym teacher when I went to AA (Alfred Almond)in the late 60’s. I ran into him once in Hornell….. he remembered me, and we shared some quick stories–I ended up going to college at SUNY Oswego, and we talked about familiar places. I am grateful for his life and a better person for knowing him. Sincere condolences to his family.
Prayers and thoughts for his family. He will always have a special place in my heart. He was well loved as a coach and gym teacher. May you find peace in his passing.
So sorry for your loss. Mr. McEvoy was a wonderful person.
My prayers go out to the entire family. May God’s peace bless you at this time. Your dad was a wonderful man. Jim impacted my life in a very positive way, and for that, I will be forever thankful. He was tough as a coach, yet those of us that played for him had a lot of fun. Coach, you will be missed.
My thoughts are with the McEvoy family during this difficult time. I remember “Mr. McEvoy” as a very large and somewhat intimidating presence in my elementary school years who also cheerfully yodeled us out of school in the afternoon. He will be fondly remembered by generations of Alfred-Almond students. (RWH, class of 1996)
Marilyn’s favorite memories from Williamson basketball games were those spot-on set shots Jim could pull out of a hat. And at our 50th class reunion in 2003 his show-stopping inquiry to Mr. Todd about a toupee. So much for political correctness!
Rod remembers how Jim always seemed to be tugging at his ear in Williamson junior high years. What great times we had.
Jim will be greatly missed by those of us who shared our growing-up years.
I will always refer to him as Mr. McEvoy. He was my favorite Phys ed teacher. I will always remember his two handed set shots from half court because he would make six out of ten every time. He always refered to me as, “Muhleisen”, even though my last name was Northrup. He would half smile when he said it and I would half smile back. We miss you. My thoughts are with the McEvoy family. Thanks for all the great memories and honest advice Mr. McEvoy.
Coach helped us young kids develope into our fullest potential on the track and as adults. We all got a taste of the Marines in after school track practice running the “hill” or the “stairs” or wind sprints. Don’t get me wrong…I’d do it all over again for coach. God love him and his family.
Jim was a special member of our Class of 1953 at Williamson Central School. Our class was much like a big family and he readily contributed to that sense of togetherness. His athletic abilities, his friendliness and being the nice guy that he was makes him a permanent member of my cherished memories of growing up in Williamson. I thank him for that and send to him warm thoughts upon completion of his worldly journey. Well done, Jim.
My condolences to the family of Coach McEvoy. I’ll always remember one day in the cafeteria there was a boy sitting, not eating, when Coach came in. He asked the fellow why he wasn’t eating. I’m not sure what he told Coach but the truth was he didn’t have any money. Mr. McEvoy told him to get in line…he couldn’t have anyone in gym class who hadn’t eaten. He made it seem like it wasn’t charity but that the boy was doing him a favor. I realized then that beneath his gruff exterior there was a kind and sensitive heart. That memory has stayed in my mind very clearly for over 40 years. Well done Coach!
I am sorry for your loss. Your Dad was a great man and I know how he loved to help students out and he was a great teacher. He always cared about you kids and his family. He always would talk about you guys.
I remember one time during track practice back in 1974 when we had the boys and your dad was taking care of them after school. The boys played in the sandbox – they were in the long jump pit area playing in the sand because we were doing practice. We told a rookie back in 1974, your neighbor, Michael Coleman, “guess what? they are your! get them out of the sandbox so we can practice!” We left Mike with them because he was one of the new guys back then. He took it as a good sport – we thought it was funny and Coach thought it was funny too, the junior and seniors thought it was the funniest joke we had during the 1974 season other than getting stuck up in Houghton College Campus on their track on the hill, we got the bus stuck and Russ Allen, another of your neighbors, was the bus driver and it was funny, too, because Russ got the bus stuck with the baseball team and they were late for the game.
We knew that we were going to stay later because the bus was STUCK.
We had to get somebody else to come and get the bus unstuck and we made a song about it which the team has not sung since 1974. Your dad was very helpful during my Special Olympic days. I remember one story – for two years during the week when the Alfred Almond Track Invitational would come, I would have the Special Olympic Games Regionals qualifier on the Invitational day and when my own late Father would be driving, my brother would listen for the horn and see the car coming down the road – he’d run to the locker room to unlock my locker so we could get my equipment out and your dad would ask Coach Moore to hold on for a few minutes so I could get changed, run outside, and run my first race being the 880 yard run back then. The funny thing about it, I was running with the Elite Field so your father would say “GOOD LUCK – YOU’RE WITH THEM!”. I said to your Dad “I’ll do my best!” and I went running off. My late Father and your Dad looked at me and said “he just ran his best 800 time for both years”. Funny enough, I had to run the 2 mile race later on that day with Olympic runner John Tuttle.
All the above shows us that the past we lived stays in our memories and your Dad will always be in mine. Sincerely, Michael J. Coughlin
Jim McEvoy influenced my life in positive ways. I learned valuable life lessons from him when he repeatedly took me aside to discuss my shortcomings. He will always be “Coach” in my mind. Thanks, and Rest in Peace.
Mr. McEvoy was always one of my favorite teachers and I am so sad to hear of his passing. He was certainly a wonderful man and my thoughts are with his childen during this difficult time.