JOHN JOSEPH MCCARTHY

1930 - 2017

McCARTHY, John Joseph In Concord, formerly of Arlington, Monday July 17, 2017. Loving husband of the late Jeanne (O'Sullivan) McCarthy and mother of Stephen of Roslindale, Brian of Portland, ME, Elaine and Randolph Briggs of Norwalk, CT and Karen of Groton. Devoted grandfather to Nina, Lydia, Simon and Elizabeth. Beloved brother of the late Eileen McCarthy, the late Geraldine Cottle and the late Cecelia Santa. John J. McCarthy was born November 2, 1930 to Denis and Lilian (Murray) McCarthy in Cambridge. He received his early education at the Agasiz School and, later, Cambridge High and Latin School where he graduated as salutatorian in 1947. Mr. McCarthy received a Cambridge scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Metallurgy/Materials Science. After a short stint at Hamilton Standard Co in Hartford he returned to Cambridge and MIT for a Master's degree and began work as a metallurgist at the Institute's fabled Instrumentation Lab. The majority of his career was spent at Charles Stark Draper Laboratories in Cambridge, an organization credited by Howard Wesley Johnson, Chairman of the MIT Corporation, for "creating a whole new industry in inertial instruments and systems for airplanes, ships, submarines, missiles, satellites and space vehicles". John met Jeanne O'Sullivan at a Newman Club St. Patrick's Day party in the late 1950s and the two were married in November of 1959. They moved to Arlington the following year where they raised their four children and would continue to reside for the next fifty years. In retirement John and Jeanne traveled the US, the Caribbean and Europe and worked as volunteers with the Boston Museum of Science and the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands. Mr. McCarthy was active in the St. Eulalia Catholic parish in Winchester and recorded written material for blind and visually impaired readers. In their later years together John and Jeanne were active residents of the Stonebridge community in Burlington. John was a dedicated and constant presence in the lives of his four grandchildren and spent many happy summers and holidays traveling throughout New England to vacation with them and share their milestones and triumphs. Funeral from the Keefe Funeral Home, 5 Chestnut St. (Adjacent to Saint Agnes' Church) Rte. 60, ARLINGTON, Monday, July 24th at 9 am. Funeral Mass in Saint Eulalia's Church, Ridge St., Winchester at 10 am. Relatives and friends invited. Visiting hours Sunday, July 23rd from 3-7 pm. Burial in Calvary Cemetery, Woburn. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to: Alzheimer's Association of Mass/NH, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472 http://alzmass.org. To send an online condolence visit www.keefefuneralhome.com