Max Burwell Cushman, 93, of McHenry and formerly of Park Ridge, died Wednesday, Feb 21, 2007, in his daughter's home in Crystal Lake.

He was born May 16, 1913, in Dexter, Iowa, to H. Burwell and Flossie (Atherton) Cushman. He married Hazel Irene Grimm on April 3, 1939, in Sydney, Iowa.

During World War II, he taught radio school in Kansas and tested radios in bombers. He also worked on sonar equipment for the Submarine Signal Company in Massachusetts. After the war, he relocated to the Chicago area where he worked in the printing industry until he retired to McHenry.

He was a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. He was a past master of Edgewater Masonic Lodge 901 and a member of McHenry Masonic Lodge 158. Other memberships include Printers Guild and the McHenry County Seniors.

He had many interests and hobbies including making contacts throughout the world as an amateur radio operator (W9KIK). He loved to fish, golf, and play pool and horseshoes. He enjoyed feeding birds and collecting antique tools, and he played in bridge and cribbage clubs weekly. He was good at puzzles and riddles, played the harmonica and enjoyed making willow whistles for three generations of children. He learned computers and published his grandfather's diaries. He did origami and was recognized by many waitresses as the man who made them rings out of dollar bills. He had an inquisitive, creative mind, ingenuity, and a sharp wit that endeared him to all.

He was loved and will be deeply missed by many, including his wife of 67 years, a son Michael (Myra) Cushman of Sterling, VA, a daughter Sharon (Ronald) Crounse of Crystal Lake; his grandchildren, Kenneth Crounse, Andrea Mitchell, Kevin Cushman, and Robert Cushman; his great-grandchildren, Jordan, Julia, Emily, Austin, and Cecelia; and two sisters, Dorothy Woltman of Centenial, Colo., and Susan (Dwight) Young of Storm Lake, Iowa.

He was preceded in death by a sister Genore Bernhard and a brother Carroll Cushman.