When the phone rang at 2 a.m. at the Mahon house in east Bloomington, the four boys always knew it was a call for Dad, probably from an irate neighbor who wanted to complain about late-night airplane noise.
Mark Paul Mahon, residents in Bloomington knew, was the go-to guy if they wanted something done about airport noise and many other local issues, whether he was serving on the City Council or representing them in the state House. Mahon died peacefully on Sept. 7 at the age of 87.
"Dad was always looking out for what was best for Bloomington," said Mark Patrick Mahon, Mahon's youngest son and namesake.
Mahon had a tough childhood, family members recall, noting his mother died when he was 12 and his father was often away from their farm near Winsted. "You basically had five minor children raising themselves," said Stephen Mahon, the second oldest of Mahon's sons.
In 1953, Mahon joined the U.S. Air Force, working as an air traffic controller in Saudi Arabia during the Korean War.
After his tour, he began a 36-year career with International Harvester, first as a warehouseman and later as president of United Auto Workers Local 763. Family members remember how their parents had to pinch pennies when the national union went on strike in 1979; members didn't return to work for nearly six months.
"We cut back a lot on groceries that year," Mark said. "Dad was a tough negotiator. He looked out for the workers."
Mahon's political career began in 1976, when he first was elected to the Bloomington City Council. He also served on the Bloomington Port Authority and the Metropolitan Waste Commission before being elected to the state House in 1992.
