Mattie Pearl McCartney's Obituary
Mattie (Vickie) McCartney, age 97, Mt dora, Florida, passed away Monday, December 26, 2022
at Mike Conley Hospice House in Clermont, Florida. Mattie was born on May 13, 1925 in
Bonham, Texas to Mattie Lou Clements Barber and Thomas Wilbur Barber.
She spent her childhood in Texas and it was there that she met and married her high school
sweetheart, Joe McCartney. The couple spent many years moving all over the country from
one station posting to another. Most notable in their travels was a tour of duty in Alaska and
later a tour of duty in Japan.
Their last tour of duty was in Goldsboro, NC and it was there that they changed their plans of
retiring to Alaska and decided to retire in Daytona Beach, FL.
In Daytona Beach she began working for General Electric in their Apollo Support Program. Shewas a wire designer and worked on many different modules that went into the rockets andlanding capsules of many of the Apollo Moon Missions. Her career at General Electric endedwhen she suffered an on the job spinal injury.
Following her career at GE she and Joe bought a waterfront lot on the Intracoastal Waterway in
Flagler Beach and began building their dream home. Mattie loved the unspoiled natural beauty
of the area and when a large developer began employing practices that were damaging the
environment she became active in efforts to stop the destruction. She was a founding member
of Friends of the Barrier Island, an organization that sought to ensure that development in the
area was conducted in a way that protected the natural beauty and health of the ecosystem.
Joe and Mattie also traveled extensively in retirement. They traveled all over the country to
attend yearly gatherings of several different military groups, Attending these functions
eventually took them through every state in the United States. They also traveled to Europe
several times and traveled to Australia and New Zealand.
At home they actively collected and sold vintage glassware and perfume bottles in several
shops in St Augustine. When age began to slow them down they bought a second home, a
condo, in Mount Dora. Here they enjoyed being close to their children and grandchildren.
Mattie is preceded in death by her husband Joe McCartney. She is survived by her daughters
Eve Hope McCartney Carter and Vickie Jo McCartney Ball and son Robert Kirk McCartney,
granddaughters Erica Rachelle Carter Wilhelm, Erin Nicole Carter Heft and Eve Lauren Carter,
grandsons Randall Evan Ball, Bobby Brian McCartney, Justin Scott McCartney, Chad Joseph
McCartney, and Robert Kirk McCartney Jr., great granddaughters, Jacqueline Wilhelm
Guerrero, Mattie Heft Lawter, Vivian Heft, Eva Heft, Makayla McCartney, Jana McCartney,
Angeline McCartney, Natalie McCartney, great grandsons, Nicholas Wilhelm, Alden McCartney,
Brent McCartney, Camden McCartney and great-great grandsons Declan Guerrero and Koa
Guerrero.
What’s your fondest memory of Mattie?
What’s a lesson you learned from Mattie?
Share a story where Mattie's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Mattie you’ll never forget.
How did Mattie make you smile?