Milton Mccabe Jr.

Milton McCabe Jr. died at the age of 50, in Topeka, Kansas. His heart of gold that loved so much and so fully gave out on him, July 28, 2016. Milton was born on February 9, 1966, in Mé¼nchweiler, Germany, the son of Milton and Edeltraud McCabe. As part of a military family, Milton made the first of seven trans-Atlantic flights at age two. Some of the places he called home were: Hinterweidental (Germany); Fort Riley, KS; Né¼rnberg (Germany); Pinckneyville, IL; Fort Sheridan, IL; Mannheim (Germany); Weaver, AL; Gerolsheim (Germany); lastly ending back in the Fort Riley, Kansas area. Milton was an extremely gifted individual, excelling early in all that he did. His determination became evident when he began walking when he was only nine months old. From that moment on, nothing could stop him. School came easily to him and his name was fixed on every Honor Roll. His wonderful mind never stopped working. Along with his cohort, big brother Mike, the dynamic duo participated in much mischief. In fairness, Milton was just trying to explore his scientific curiosity. Some hypotheses tested, but not limited to, included: How far will a flaming tennis ball travel down the road when hit with full force by a golf club? How loud will a firecracker be when dropped out of a two story window? Do vineyard snails taste like the escargot served in fancy restaurants? He determined the answer to this last hypothesis to be no, after turning several shades of green. Milton, always looking for a challenge, taught himself to ride a unicycle. After just a short while he was able to perform tricks. He also did stunts on skateboards and was a dare devil on his bike, racing wildly through the Germany country side. When most people would approach a wooded area cautiously, he went full speed ahead and ended up with part of a branch lodged in his cheek. The scar that forever remained reflected his "do life to the fullest" attitude. When he wasn't into mischief he had a very loving side. As a young child he would save what money he could to buy his mother gifts for Christmas and her birthdays. To this day, she still has his gifts and cherishes them dearly. Milton's bond with his mother was close and his loving heart extended to his whole family. He was fiercely protective of his youngest sister, even when she was a handful. Additionally, Milton had a very competitive nature. This side of him would show itself while he was on the school's soccer team or even when he played friendly games of ping-pong or darts. He had his softer book-loving side though to counter the fierce competitor in him. Milton's love of reading came straight from his mother and inspired the vast book collection he has now. In 1982, the family moved for the final time, settling in Keats, KS, just outside of Manhattan. The move came right before Milton's junior year in high school. The majority of his life he attended D.O.D. schools that had class sizes anywhere between 400-500 students, so Riley County High School (RCHS) was a major adjustment. Even though Milton joined the largest class ever to go through RCHS, the class size was under 45. This is where he met his lifelong friend, Wayne Page. After graduation, Milton attended Kansas State University studying Geology and Physics. He worked part-time in the Entomology Department as well as having a job at the Manhattan Holidome. While working at the Holidome, Milton met his future wife, Martha Dawood. Milton started working for the Kansas Dept. of Agriculture in the Water Resource Division in 1992 as an Environmental Scientist. During his 24 years in this field, his favorite pastime was playing pranks around the office. He never ceased to brighten all of his coworkers' days by putting smiles on their faces. On March 5, 1996, Milton was united in marriage with Martha Dawood in Topeka, Kansas. Then his life took a new direction when his little princess, Genevieve (Jenny), was born. It was a true pleasure seeing his already brilliantly blue eyes light up whenever he looked at his little girl. Jenny became the mini female version of Milton. She inherited Martha's beauty but ended up with all of her father's personality traits. Milton was extremely proud of Jenny and had every reason in the world. He was particularly proud when Jenny was accepted into the University of Kansas Pharmacy School after only two years of undergraduate courses. Milton was preceded in death by his brother Klaus Theime who died in Germany at the age of 6 weeks from meningitis. Milton never had a chance to meet his brother because he passed away before Milton was born. He was also preceded in death by his pregnant sister Gabriele Williams (California) along with her husband Paul and 18-month old daughter Melody, all killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. Both paternal and maternal grandparents preceded him in death as well. Out of the many loved ones that Milton leaves behind are his wife Martha (Topeka, KS), his daughter Jenny (Lawrence, KS), his parents Milton and Edeltraud McCabe (Keats, KS), his brother Mike Theime and wife Ulli (Germany), his four sisters: Anette Theime (Manhattan, KS), April Cleer (Havana, IL), Friederike and husband Knut (Germany), Scarlett and husband Daivd (Manhattan, KS), and lastly four nephews, two nieces, eight grand-nephews and two grand-nieces. A Celebration of Life will be held at the First Baptist Church, 3033 SW MacVicar, Topeka, KS 66611 on Thursday, 08/04/16 from 6-8 pm. Church service will be held on Friday, 08/05/16 at 10:30 am at the same location.