Gregory McCall, Sr. was born on January 15, 1953 to the late Philip and Virginia Gaillard McCall. His earthly life came to a close on Saturday November 29, 2014 after a short illness in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland.
Greg was educated in the Philadelphia public school system and graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1970. While at Gratz he honed his basketball skills under the direction of John Cheney and he attended University of Baltimore on a basketball scholarship. He worked for the Federal Reserve for a number of years and began his career in the field of computers. He would later become a computer analyst and a QA specialist. Greg liked the flexibility of working as a consultant on assignments at a number of large financial institutions.
In September 1983 he was introduced to Vanessa Tisdale and in August 1987 they were married. From this union they were blessed with three children, Kimberly, Gregory Jr. and Christopher. In August 2012 they celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They had a celebration that was well- attended by family and friends. Their children provided the musical entertainment for the event.
Greg was an avid sports fan who faithfully followed the Philadelphia Seventy Sixers and the Philadelphia Eagles. Greg enjoyed doing home improvements and was always willing to help others with their projects. He also enjoyed playing chess, even in the hospital where he would challenge the other patients, nurses and doctors.
Greg loved to keep in contact with his friends and enjoyed their visits when he was in the hospital. He remained close to his former Gratz schoolmates and his former teammates from high school, college and the North Philadelphia Community.
Greg and Vanessa enjoyed line dancing and went dancing three days a week where they met several dancers who became very good friends. He loved to entertain and on July 4, 2014 he and Vanessa hosted their St John church family for a cookout.
Greg was very proud of his children and their accomplishments. He was proud that all three of his children attended college and two of them will graduate next year.
Family time was important for Greg. The family traveled to Orlando every summer for 16 years. While his mother and mother-in-law were alive they all traveled to Canada. The family went to Hawaii for their 15th wedding anniversary and cruised to Nassau and Haiti for their 20th wedding anniversary. Last December they took a luxury cruise to Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. Greg enjoyed sharing photos of their first class suite which included a butler who provided several services and served the family high tea each afternoon.
Greg leaves to cherish his memory his loving wife of 27 years, Vanessa; one daughter, Kimberly; two sons Gregory, Jr and Christopher all of Newark, DE; one brother, Daryl and one sister Andrea (Peaches), both of Philadelphia PA; one devoted sister-in-law, Deirdre Anderson of Miami FL; two nephews Karl Lancaster, Jr and Walter Tisdale (Cobra) of Philadelphia PA; five nieces, Karen Carter of Laurel MD, Carla Capel of Lanham MD, Donna Capel-Wayne of Bowie MD, Nikol Anderson of Columbia SC and Nichelle Anderson of Miami FL; cousins James Bowles of New York NY, Steven Keels, John (Jan) Hampton, Beverly (James) Allen, Karen (Vincent) Thompson, Charisse Gaillard, Yolanda Weathersby of Philadelphia; devoted friend Shawnda (Ernest) Carr Garrett of Bear DE and a host of great nieces and nephews, cousins, relatives and many friends. His sister Vivian Harris and brother Donald Capel preceded him in death.