Henry (“Hank”) Walker McIver, Jr., passed away peacefully on June 29, 2018, in Rochester, NY, at the age of 96. Hank is survived by his wife, Joan McIver; his children, Cary McIver (James Swarts), Peggy Gregerson (Dick), Tom (Beth) and Barbara McIver (Robert Wason); grandchildren, Abby Hanson (Kurt), Julia Cook (Gabriel), Katie and Kerry McIver, Oliver Wason (Soo Young), Eileen McIver, and Lucy Gregerson; and great grandchildren, Aiden, Erik and Delia Hanson, and Sebastian Cook. Hank is preceded in death by his parents, Elizabeth and Henry McIver; and siblings, John, Rebecca and Norman McIver.
Hank was born on July 18, 1921, in Cheraw, SC, and grew up in Rochester, NY. He attended St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and sang in the choir for George Eastman’s funeral. Graduating from Monroe High School and attending the Mechanics Institute (RIT), he also worked for General Railway Signal. Shortly afterward, he joined the US Army during WWI where he served in the Signal Corps, maintaining the top secret ECM Mark II “SIGABA” cipher machine. While on duty, he sailed the “Susan B. Anthony” to North Africa, engaging in the North Africa and Italy campaigns. Following his discharge, Hank attended Pratt Institute, where he met the love of his life, Joan Smith, with whom he shared the past 69 years.
Hank worked most of his life as an Art Director for two major NYC advertising firms, Cunningham & Walsh and Foote, Cone & Belding. He later developed the Art Department for the Marketing Corporation of America (MCA) in Westport, CT. Aside from being an accomplished Art Director, he will mostly be remembered for his whimsical and witty cartoons created for The Y’s Men in Westport, CT, which vividly captured the joys and pains of aging. Active in tennis throughout most of his life, he was fond of jazz, and excelled in Scrabble, at which he was unbeatable until the very end.
Hank and Joan moved to Rochester in 2014 from Westport, CT, to be near family. The family would like to thank St. John’s Meadows, the Rochester VA, and Highland Hospital for their kind and caring devotion. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to St. John’s Foundation at 150 Highland Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620.
We will always remember Hank’s wit, thoughtfulness, and sense of humor. We miss him dearly.