Menu
Search by Name
Search by Name
FUNERAL HOME
Bob McCarthy Obituary
Robert M. McCarthy Obituary
Butte lost an advocate, historian, storyteller & intellect on January 13, 2016. Robert "Bob" McCarthy was born on September 15, 1941 in Helena, MT, the first of three children born to Helen Mullane McCarthy & Robert Emmett McCarthy. He died from a heart attack in Butte on Wednesday.
Bob attended kindergarten at Helena Cathedral School at the age of 4, due to the fact he could fluently read, which provided him with passion & intensity unlike any other endeavor. His voracious appetite for reading defined his personality.
During the war, his family lived in Bremerton, WA, & then moved to Butte in 1948 where he attended St. Patrick's Grade School & graduated from the 8th grade at Immaculate Conception School. He graduated from Butte High School in 1959. He attended Gonzaga & began working in Reno at the Virginia Club, where his math skills were put to great use.
Bob was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1964 and did Basic Training at Fort Ord, California. He then was stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco & clerked for a priest who provided him with temporary relief from the realities of war, & treated him to tickets to Giants games.
After discharge from the Army in 1966, Bob graduated from the University of Montana in Business Administration & began law school in 1970. During this time, he met Loretta Downey & they were married July 22, 1967. Upon graduation in 1973, his family came back to Butte where he began his legal career where he served the Butte Community until his retirement at the age of 67. In 2000, he married Fran Doran until 2007, where they traveled often & made the journey to Ireland & his family's home on the Beara Peninsula. He often commented his family was so far south, they were in the ocean.
Bob's keen sense of observation provided him with a great skill as a lawyer. His advocacy for the Butte Silver Bow city-county consolidation in 1977 was representative of his love of law & the foundation a city must be based. Writing statutes and improving existing codes became a mainstay of his career & he tirelessly worked for the city of Butte. Bob's gifts of intellect, recollection & memory were evident throughout his years of service as the County Attorney for 28 years.
Bob's life was defined by service to his community. He loved Butte and fiercely fought for its people, community & betterment. He advocated for the marginalized & sought for fairness & justice, and he held himself to a high degree of volunteerism. He served on numerous boards & commissions & valued the need for their existence (too many to list). He ardently & actively served on the Board of the Salvation Army, Butte Human Resource Council, The Butte Sports Hall of Fame, the Historical Preservation Commission, the Butte Historical Society, Friends of the Butte Archives, 4th Degree Knights of Columbus & the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Bob held his faith in high regard. He cherished the Butte Catholic Community & took solace in the words of Christ & demanded action from himself to improve the lives of others. He embodied the spirit of a glorious storyteller who was proud & passionate about his Irish ancestry & his ancestors who forged difficult lives to make sure his could be better.
For all of Bob's accomplishments & contributions, nothing was more meaningful & important to Bob than his family. He was preceded in death by his wife Loretta who died of Multiple Sclerosis in 1998. He is survived by his four children and their families. Jerome (Darla) of Butte & their three children; Devin, Ryan and Maddie. Julie (Mark McLaverty) of Missoula & their two children; Rory & Annie, Stephen (Piper) of Fernley, NV & their 3 children; Matthew, Mallory & Marcus. Willie (Gina) of Missoula & their two children, Connor & Colin. Additionally, Bob is survived by his sister Jane Kovich of Billings & his brother Joe (Teri) of Butte. Bob has many relatives who provided him joy & cherished their Irish ancestry. Particularly, his 1st cousins, Michael Harrington, Sheila (Harrington) Preston & Ann (Harrington) Schwandt who were raised in a duplex by their mothers who were sisters. His wife's Downey Family were part of his inner core & admired their tenacious spirit & was proud his children were Downey/McCarthy.
A celebration of Bob's life will take place on Wednesday, January 20 at the Immaculate Conception Church at 10am. On Tuesday, January 19, visitation will begin at 5pm followed by the Rosary at 7pm at I.C. Church. Memorials can be made to the Montana Multiple Sclerosis Society (2047 Broadwater, Suite 2, Billings, MT 59102), Butte Central Foundation (550 E Mercury), Butte Athletic Council (401 S. Wyoming) or to a charity of the donor's choice.
Bob loved wit and sarcasm & in the words of Winston Churchill, "He has all the virtues I dislike & none of the vices I admire."
Butte lost an advocate, historian, storyteller & intellect on January 13, 2016. Robert "Bob" McCarthy was born on September 15, 1941 in Helena, MT, the first of three children born to Helen Mullane McCarthy & Robert Emmett McCarthy. He died from a heart attack in Butte on Wednesday.
Bob attended kindergarten at Helena Cathedral School at the age of 4, due to the fact he could fluently read, which provided him with passion & intensity unlike any other endeavor. His voracious appetite for reading defined his personality.
During the war, his family lived in Bremerton, WA, & then moved to Butte in 1948 where he attended St. Patrick's Grade School & graduated from the 8th grade at Immaculate Conception School. He graduated from Butte High School in 1959. He attended Gonzaga & began working in Reno at the Virginia Club, where his math skills were put to great use.
Bob was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1964 and did Basic Training at Fort Ord, California. He then was stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco & clerked for a priest who provided him with temporary relief from the realities of war, & treated him to tickets to Giants games.
After discharge from the Army in 1966, Bob graduated from the University of Montana in Business Administration & began law school in 1970. During this time, he met Loretta Downey & they were married July 22, 1967. Upon graduation in 1973, his family came back to Butte where he began his legal career where he served the Butte Community until his retirement at the age of 67. In 2000, he married Fran Doran until 2007, where they traveled often & made the journey to Ireland & his family's home on the Beara Peninsula. He often commented his family was so far south, they were in the ocean.
Bob's keen sense of observation provided him with a great skill as a lawyer. His advocacy for the Butte Silver Bow city-county consolidation in 1977 was representative of his love of law & the foundation a city must be based. Writing statutes and improving existing codes became a mainstay of his career & he tirelessly worked for the city of Butte. Bob's gifts of intellect, recollection & memory were evident throughout his years of service as the County Attorney for 28 years.
Bob's life was defined by service to his community. He loved Butte and fiercely fought for its people, community & betterment. He advocated for the marginalized & sought for fairness & justice, and he held himself to a high degree of volunteerism. He served on numerous boards & commissions & valued the need for their existence (too many to list). He ardently & actively served on the Board of the Salvation Army, Butte Human Resource Council, The Butte Sports Hall of Fame, the Historical Preservation Commission, the Butte Historical Society, Friends of the Butte Archives, 4th Degree Knights of Columbus & the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
Bob held his faith in high regard. He cherished the Butte Catholic Community & took solace in the words of Christ & demanded action from himself to improve the lives of others. He embodied the spirit of a glorious storyteller who was proud & passionate about his Irish ancestry & his ancestors who forged difficult lives to make sure his could be better.
For all of Bob's accomplishments & contributions, nothing was more meaningful & important to Bob than his family. He was preceded in death by his wife Loretta who died of Multiple Sclerosis in 1998. He is survived by his four children and their families. Jerome (Darla) of Butte & their three children; Devin, Ryan and Maddie. Julie (Mark McLaverty) of Missoula & their two children; Rory & Annie, Stephen (Piper) of Fernley, NV & their 3 children; Matthew, Mallory & Marcus. Willie (Gina) of Missoula & their two children, Connor & Colin. Additionally, Bob is survived by his sister Jane Kovich of Billings & his brother Joe (Teri) of Butte. Bob has many relatives who provided him joy & cherished their Irish ancestry. Particularly, his 1st cousins, Michael Harrington, Sheila (Harrington) Preston & Ann (Harrington) Schwandt who were raised in a duplex by their mothers who were sisters. His wife's Downey Family were part of his inner core & admired their tenacious spirit & was proud his children were Downey/McCarthy.
A celebration of Bob's life will take place on Wednesday, January 20 at the Immaculate Conception Church at 10am. On Tuesday, January 19, visitation will begin at 5pm followed by the Rosary at 7pm at I.C. Church. Memorials can be made to the Montana Multiple Sclerosis Society (2047 Broadwater, Suite 2, Billings, MT 59102), Butte Central Foundation (550 E Mercury), Butte Athletic Council (401 S. Wyoming) or to a charity of the donor's choice.
Bob loved wit and sarcasm & in the words of Winston Churchill, "He has all the virtues I dislike & none of the vices I admire."
Published by Duggan Dolan Mortuary - Butte on Feb. 18, 2016.