Mac (he always hated his given name) was born in a small town about 15 miles north of Davenport, Iowa. His middle name came from his great-grandfather and grandfather, Elmer Alphonso Moore. His great-grandmother, Harriet Syrilda Mounts, was reportedly the first white child born in Scott County, Iowa. Mac's father, formerly a farmer, had established a hardware and farm implement store in Long Grove. He also sold Plymouth and Chrysler autos. Mac helped in the store, and, in his early teens, became the driving teacher for farmers buying their first automobile. He attended elementary school in a frame schoolhouse in Long Grove (now the Senior Citizens Center) and high school in Davenport. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1942 and served as a Flight Engineer on a B-24 bomber, the Liberator, flying 45 missions over Hungary, Romania, northern Italy from a base in Southern Italy. On his 22nd mission the plane was so badly damaged by enemy fire that the crew was unable to get it back to base and parachuted out over the island of Vis in the Adriatic. Fortunately, the island was held by Yugoslav Partisans, who radioed for help for them and they were returned to base 10 days later by small boat. Mac received the Bronze Star and Air medal with three oak clusters, and was recommended for the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was discharged in 1945. Mac met Virginia Armstrong on Valentine's Day 1946 on a blind date arranged by mutual friends, became engaged at Christmas that year, married May 31, 1947. Mac had become an auto mechanic, then owned a service station and repair shop until they decided to move to Florida in 1954. There again he worked as a mechanic for a while, then operated a garden supply store, then became involved in plastics injection molding and extrusion and worked in various phases of that business until retirement in 1985. With another man, he developed the method of extruding PVC pipe. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in late 1991 and died at home of an unexpected heart attack in Spring 1993.