11/26/2025
Ted L. McCoy, 94, went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, 23 November 2025, while surrounded by his family.
He was born in Missouri City, MO in October 1931, and was the sixth child of Garland McCoy and Anna Mae (Chapel) McCoy. His family moved to Prathersville, MO, when he was five, and at the age of 11 he moved to Liberty, MO, where he lived most of his life.
Ted was a charter member of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, joining at the age 15. He was one of a handful of original members that met in the basement of a home. Eventually, property was purchased, and he and his father, Garland, helped build the first church building in Pleasant Valley, MO. Ted started teaching Sunday School soon after and continued to teach until two weeks before his passing, for a total of 77 years.
Ted put himself through community college in the Kansas City area, and then transferred to the University of Kansas, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in architectural engineering in January 1954.
He joined the Army in May 1954. After his first year stationed in the heat of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, he was stationed in Boston, Massachusetts. In April 1955, he met 18-year-old Marjorie Brown. They fell in love, were secretly engaged in June, and eloped in September. After being discharged in 1956, he brought her home to live in Liberty, MO. In 1957, Ted and Marge designed and built their house on Circle Drive, where they started their family and raised five children. Marge lived in this house until she died from cancer in 1978.
In 1956, Ted joined his brother Melvin in the construction business and created McCoy Brothers Construction. He was a great asset to anyone who hired him, as he was able to design the house and then build it himself. Anyone who had a home built by Ted McCoy knew that it was built to last!
Ted and his brothers Melvin and Harrison decided to build a bowling alley in 1957, and the 12-lane alley was finished in 1958. They discussed names and felt MacBowl would be great, but shortened it to McBowl to save the cost of eliminating one letter in the signage. Harrison ran the day-to-day operations, with Ted and Melvin alternating evening shifts after building homes during the day. Business was so good, they added another six lanes in 1972.
Ted loved his kids and was always trying to find ways to make play fun. With the help of Pete Mose, who lived across the creek, they built a concrete playground for both families on the McCoy property. The playground included a small wading pool, sand box, teeter-toter, swing set and slide, as well as a concrete and brick arched bridge across the creek for the kids to get from one side to the other. This personal park was enjoyed by many neighborhood children for years to come. Eventually, he built a playhouse miniature of the main house, which included a working garage door, front door, and windows. As their children got older, he added an inground pool and basketball court in the backyard.
For many years, Ted and Marge would host parties in their home in the summer holidays, inviting many families over to enjoy the day having a cookout, playing horseshoes, swimming in the pool, and have an overall great time. There might be 50 or more show up, but for Ted, the more the merrier.
Ted spent years coaching his sons Brian and Scott in little league baseball. The love of baseball stayed with him as he, Brian, and numerous friends of Brian’s played in a church softball league for years. It was fun watching “the old man” out play men younger in years, but they all loved spending time with him.
Ted enjoyed playing and watching basketball, and one of the highlights on his calendar for many years was the NAIA basketball tournament. He would go to the arena with 10-12 of his friends and family, and watch games from 9am until midnight, eating goodies, drinking cokes, joking around, and having fun. He would always take a canister of his fudge every day to share with his friends, as well as people he didn’t know sitting near him. People remember him for his fudge! He started a tradition with Brian and Scott when they were in grade school by letting them take one day out of school to go handout with Dad and his friends to watch basketball.
Over the years, Ted continued to serve in the church, teaching various age groups, leading the music, and serving on numerous committees. Because of the continued growth, in 1972, PVBC voted to build a three-level addition. Ted drew up the plans, managed the construction and the church member volunteers, and did a significant portion of the work, all to save on expenses.
In 1979, Ted and Cheri Bowman got married. Between them they had eight children. As their children grew, they married and the blended family continued to grow with many grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren.
Ted and Cheri served in various areas of the life of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church for over 44 years.
He built an apartment building during his “retirement” years, being the live-in apartment manager. Living there allowed him to become well acquainted with the tenants and develop many friendships. He had a sense when people were going through a hard time, and he was willing to work with them to help them through it. He didn’t lavish himself with the “finer things” in life but chose instead to share what he had with others, be it his family, or through other opportunities he felt God had pressed on his heart.
Year after year, Ted wrote down memories of his life from his childhood and through his adult life. In 2011, everything was compiled into a book “Ted: The Story of a Real McCoy”. It was his gift to his five children to have a record of his childhood, as well as their own childhood, up until their mother’s death in 1978.
Ted McCoy was a man with a servant’s heart. He was always willing to help a person in need. He did that with his finances, even if they were limited, with his time, with his building talent, and with his spiritual gifts. He was a loyal friend. He would go visit his friends every week and if they did not live in town, he would call them every week. He would often drive around town checking in on elderly people he knew, and either do a little job they needed done, or just hang out and visit. Even after Marge died, he continued to write letters to her parents once a month to keep them connected with the McCoy household, until their own deaths many years later. He loved missions, supporting numerous missionaries over the years, and even had the opportunity to go on several mission trips to Mexico and Germany, leading teams to complete construction projects. He had a giving spirit. He would give you whatever you needed at the moment, whether it was his time, money, laughter, advice, a stern talking to, or best of all – chocolate!
Ted was a wonderful father and grandfather. He loved his children and made life as his child fun. He built toys like puzzles to help them learn how to spell their names, building blocks, Lincoln logs, doll houses and Barbie clothes closets, small kitchens with ovens, dishwashers, and sinks, go-carts, swings, tree houses, play stores, hide-away rooms under bedrooms and in the attic space, and the list could go on and on. He regularly visited his kids, grandkids, and great-grandchildren, and always sent a birthday card to everyone in the family every year. At the age of 85 and older, you would find him sitting on the floor playing with one of the great-grandchildren and giggling the whole time.
Ted McCoy was man of God with a true servant’s heart, was well loved by many, and he will be missed!
Ted is proceeded in death by his parents; sisters Mildred Swearingin and Helen Hutchens; brothers Melvin McCoy and Harrison McCoy; and former wife Marjorie McCoy.
He is survived by his wife, Cherilyn McCoy; daughters Stacey Wright, Kelle Henson (Keith), and Lori Porter (Steve); sons Brian McCoy (Sally), and Scott McCoy (Myra); stepsons Phil Bowman (Kathy), Steve Bowman (Toni), and David Bowman (Julia); 24 grandchildren; and 33 great-grandchildren.
The family will hold an Open House Celebration of Life on Sunday, 30 November 2025, from 2:00-5:00pm at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, East Entrance. Come and share your memories of Ted, peruse photos and memorabilia of his life, and partake in some chocolate candy and fudge! In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to Pleasant Valley Baptist Church or Kansas City Hospice.
