Lawrence T. McKevitt

HARWICH PORT — Larry McKevitt, of Harwich Port, passed away April 14, 2010.

Born Nov. 14, 1925, Larry was the oldest of three children of Gertrude (Clifford) and Francis McKevitt of Roslindale.

Larry went to work early in life. Skills learned at Boston Trade earned him employment at Quincy Ship Yard and after enlistment in the Army in 1944, he rose quickly to staff sergeant. As a young man he supervised men constructing the base on Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands, from which the final push to Japan was to be launched.

After the war, he attended the New England Conservatory of Music and Northeastern University. His career path eventually led him to the sales field where his hard work and charming personality served him well. He met his match in Mary Byrne and they married at St. Peters in Dorchester on May 1, 1954.

Feeling the need to take greater charge of his future, Larry landed a job with Brodie Inc. of Woburn where he began a long and successful career in the field of material handling equipment sales. He went on to advance his career with Clark Equipment Co. at three other stops in the northeast before emptying his savings to acquire Summit Handling Systems Inc. in North Haven, Conn., in December 1973. After many successful years marked by appointments and awards that took he and Mary to many unusual and beautiful places around the world, he retired in 1997.

He spent his retirement on Cape Cod in the beautiful town of Harwich Port where he had summered since the late 1960s. He caught up on his golf and, together with Mary, lived a very social life. A lifelong member of the Knights of Columbus, Larry was also involved with the Holy Trinity Church choir. Good friends were always important to Larry as he continued to make new ones to his last days.

Along with his wife, he leaves behind a son, Lawrence Jr. and his wife Helen of Cheshire, Conn.; daughter Beth Pye and her husband Andrew of Chester, Conn.; grandchildren Cecilia McKevitt, Conor McKevitt, Cassie McKevitt, Drew Pye and R.J. Pye; and a brother, Thomas L. McKevitt of Blue Ridge, Ga. He is predeceased by a sister, Paulina A. Maloney. Also very beloved to him were his nephew and nieces, T.J. Maloney of Greenwich, Conn., Paulina Brennan of Great Falls, Va., Mary Joe Clark of Wellesley, Kathleen Maloney of Asbury Park, N.J., and Patricia Striano of Pelham, N.Y.

Visiting hours are from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, April 19, at Morris, O'Connor & Blute Funeral Home, 678 Main St., Harwich, MA 02645. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday, in Holy Trinity Church, 246 Main St. (Route 28), West Harwich.

Memorials in his name may be made to: Hospice & Palliative Care of Cape Cod, 765 Attucks Lane, Hyannis, MA. 02601.