Mano McLaughlin '42 died February 22, 2011.
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MANO McLAUGHLIN ’42
Mano “Mac” McLaughlin died on Feb. 22, 2011, in Estes Park, Colo.
Mac came to Amherst from Milwaukee, Wisc. He was a member of Psi U and left Amherst shortly after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Marines.
After graduating from the officer training course at Quantico, Va., he was sent to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. In the next 33 months, he participated in four landings—Bougainville, Peleliu, Guam and Okinawa. On Okinawa, he was awarded the Bronze Star for leading a successful mission to recover valuable Japanese code books in tunnels deep below Shuri Castle. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, USMCR.
While on Guadalcanal, Mac met and fell in love with Patricia Hawley, who was there with the Red Cross. Mac and Pat married on July 19, 1947. During their happy marriage of more than 63 years, they had four children and 14 grandchildren.
Following his military service, Mac had a successful business career in Illinois. After a stint with an advertising agency, Mac and a friend operated an advertising premium company for several years. Mac then joined the Hawley Products Co. as vice president of sales and director from 1954 to 1968. From 1968 to 1997, he was president of Elastomer Technology, Inc.
Mac was also very active in Republican politics in Illinois for many years. He was a precinct committeeman for 21 years and attended two Republican conventions.
In the late 1960s, Mac and Pat bought a vacation home on Islamorada in the Florida Keys. For the next 40 years, they had many happy times there, particularly enjoying the fishing. In Mac’s own words, their home on Islamorada was a great joy because it “was a mecca for the children and grandchildren.”
—Ted Heisler ’42