Robert (Bob) Norman McIntyre, who served two terms as mayor of the Village of Great Neck, died on April 29 in Haslett, MI, after a long illness. McIntyre was 85 years old.
Born in Hollis, Queens, on Dec. 18, 1931, Bob moved to Great Neck in 1942. He attended Great Neck High School (now Great Neck North), where he starred as a three-sport athlete in baseball, basketball and soccer, once playing in a scrimmage against the New York Knicks.
After graduation in 1949, Bob joined the United States Navy and received an honorable discharge in 1951. He enrolled at the State University of New York Maritime Academy at Ft. Schuyler, where he served as an engineer aboard the TS Empire State II, sailing to Greece and Italy. Bob spent one semester playing basketball and, in his own words, “not much else” at the University of Mississippi. Returning to Great Neck, Bob began his career as a draftsman and mechanical engineer working for Telephonics, makers of sonar equipment for the Navy, and Target Rock Corporation in Farmingdale, for whom he worked until his retirement. He also briefly taught mathematics at Hofstra University and Cooper Union.
In 1971, Bob was tapped by then-Great Neck mayor Harry Reed for a seat on the Planning Board. “I was the only one who knew how to read a blueprint,” said Bob. He also served two terms on the Board of Trustees before winning his race for mayor in 1977. Among other accomplishments, Mayor McIntyre obtained a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to build the first senior citizen housing in Great Neck. He was reelected to a second two-year term in 1979. He never sought another office.
“Local government should be about public service, not a career,” said Bob.
An active member of the community, Bob coached CYO baseball and basket-ball for St. Aloysius as well as helped lead Boy Scout Troop 103. He was a member of the Fraternal Order of Elks, resigning when he learned the National Elks Charter prohibited African-American membership. He rejoined only after this policy was terminated.
An avid golfer and prolific reader, Bob was know for his intelligence, honesty and wit.
Married in July 1954 to Geraldine Reed of Great Neck, McIntyre had three children, Jeffrey, who predeceased him in 2013; Douglas, of Los Angeles, CA; and Kathleen McIntyre Herndon of Brewster, NY. Their marriage ended in divorce.
Bob then married Arlene Mann in 1989 and the couple moved to Ocean Pines, MD. The marriage ended with the death of Mann from cancer. Bob was married for the last 21 years of his life to Nancy Scudder McIntyre, the widow of his late brother Doug. “She already had the monogrammed towels,” joked Bob.
He had six grandchildren. Services will be private.
