October 12, 2005

Construction veteran Chuck McCormack dies

McCormack

McCormack

Charles "Chuck" McCormack, a longtime construction figure and founder of Costline Estimating Services, died Sept. 30 at age 62 from heart failure. A funeral mass will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Friday at Holy Spirit Parish in Kent.

Jamie McCormack, one of his daughters and vice president of business development at Costline, said her father was a mentor to her and others in the industry. "He had a very intimate working relationship with some of the big players in the industry," she said.

He started Costline in 2001 and worked alongside Raynette, his wife of 37 years. The company provides estimating, scheduling and project management.

Jamie said her father used his knowledge of construction along with estimating software to create a one-of-a-kind estimating system.

"He saved quite a few projects from doom along the way," she said.

During 28 years in the industry, McCormack worked as a project manager for Howard S. Wright Construction and an estimator for Strand Hunt Construction and E. Kent Halvorson Inc. He also worked for Julius-Stewart Inc., George Sollitt Corp. and Murs Construction. In the mid-1980s, he started a residential remodeling business called Lakota Construction.

"He was the best conceptual estimator I've ever been around," said Rollie Hunt, president of Strand Hunt Construction. "He was a really talented guy."

Hunt said McCormack was responsible for winning $50 million in military design-build work in Alaska during his 3-year stint with the company. He also helped get a $40 million hangar project for Northwest Airlines at Sea-Tac Airport.

Jamie McCormack said her father liked to play golf and sail on his boat, Warm Wind, during his time off. She said he also was working on a century-old house in Kent that he and Raynette had recently moved into.

Jamie said she and her mother will close Costline next month because of her father's death. "He was the driving force, it was his dream and skill that made the company run," she said.

In addition to his daughter and wife, McCormack is survived by his mother, Pauline; brother, Jim, and sister, Kathy; three other children: Joah, John and Joy; and six grandchildren.

The viewing will be from noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday at Holy Spirit Parish in Kent. Memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Foundation.