Bee McCormack

Class of 1981

A lifelong resident of Albany, GA, Bee was the daughter of the Robert Emmett and Louise Keller McCormack and grew up with a sister Anna Louise and a brother Robert. She attended public schools in Albany, and graduated from Mount de Chantal Academy in Wheeling, West Virginia. She was a 1946 graduate of Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville, GA.

Bee spent her career at Bobs Candies, Inc., which was founded by her father. At the time of her retirement in 1993, after 46 years of service, she was Senior Vice-President/Director of Packaging. During her business career, Bee served as a Director and Vice-President of the National Confectioners Association, and was honored as the National Candy Manufacturer of the Year. She also served as a national director of the Profit Sharing Council of America and on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Federal Bank (Albany).

Bee was a leader in the arts and civic affairs of Albany and worked her entire life to develop and maintain cultural resources that enriched the lives of everyone in the region. She served as President of the Albany Symphony Association, the Albany Concert Association and was the first Chairperson of the Albany Area Arts Campaign. She had served as a director of the Albany Little Theater (now Theatre Albany), the Albany Museum of Art, Easter Seals, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the United Way of Southwest GA and many more. She was a volunteer with the Red Cross Blood Bank and was a dedicated blood donor for many years, earning her 8 gallon pin.

A member of St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, Bee served on the restoration committee of Old St. Teresa’s Church and was church historian. She was a founder of the Catholic Youth Organization and the Youth Choir. She received the “Pro Deum et Juventatum” medal (for God and Youth) from Bishop Thomas McDonough of the Diocese of Savannah, and in 1993 was invested into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, one of five major chivalric orders of the Catholic Church, dating back to the 12th Century.

Bee loved flowers and gardening, and was particularly fond of growing and propagating container plants. She enjoyed travel, especially to musical events. She was known for the comic poems she wrote for special occasions. For several decades, she was a member of the “Sunday Night Tennis Club”, a group of close friends and senior players.

Bee passed away on November 7, 2022, at the age of 97.