L. Maxine (Max) McGilvrey was born Sept. 8, 1944, the eighth child of William and Hazel (Hullinger) Jones on the family farm near Elston, Iowa.
Max grew up on the family farm and attended country school and Ellston school until it closed. She graduated in 1962 from Mount Ayr Community High School.
Max was united in marriage to John (J. B.) McGilvrey in 1962, and three children were born to this union.
After living in Mount Ayr, Marshalltown and Eldora, they made their home in Woodward, where Max began her career at the Woodward Resource Center in 1972. She eventually became the head of the Adaptive Equipment Center at the WRC.
In July 1998 Max became only the third person in Iowa to be certified as an assistive technology practitioner.
In 1988, while trying to adapt a wheelchair for a client, Max found Dr. Pat Paterson in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Iowa State University. Dr. Patterson provided her with two engineering students, and with their help a computer-aided draft of a wheelchair was made and built by a wheelchair manufacturer.
That model of wheelchair is still in production 36 years later. This success led to the establishment of a collaborative program between the WRC’s Adaptive Equipment Center and Iowa State University, in which engineering students get hands-on experience and earn a wage too.
Through this program, Max made lifelong friendships with most of the students and has kept in touch with them.
In 2002 Max was given the Golden Dome Award as State Employee of the Year by then Iowa Gov Tom Vilsack.
Max retired in 2010.
She was active in the community, serving on the board of adjustments and in several capacities in Little League.
Max enjoyed her flowers until she was no longer able to take care of them and also liked camping and reading, but most of all she loved her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents; children, Stephanie Davis, and her husband, Steve Davis, and Laurie A. McGilvrey; and siblings Gene Lee, Martha Lynn and Bob, David, Mary, Marge, Curt and Ken; in-laws, Mary Jones, Genora Jones, Jean Collier, Jim Thomas and Joanne and Robert Blunck.
She is survived by her husband, John ; son, John C.; grandsons, Tony (Jenny) McGilvrey, Nate (Kylie) Burlingame, Tristan (Katlynn) McGilvrey; granddaughter, Taryn (Alder) McGilvrey; great-grandchildren, Keagin Simmer, Max Burlingame and Maxine McGilvrey; siblings, Lloyd Jones and Millie (Ron) Pittman; sister-in-law. Janeen McGilvrey; many special nieces; nephews; and close friend, Sheila Sparling.
A special thanks to the Wesley Hospice staff, especially Kaitlyn, brother Lloyd, Dianne, Linda and Jenny!
Services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you donate to Easter Seals of Iowa in Maxine’s name.
