Thomas O. McCarthy

Thomas O. (Mack) McCarthy -- former managing partner of the McMahon Berger labor & management law firm -- passed away peacefully on May 2 at the age of 77 in Town and Country, Missouri, where he and his beloved wife Sharon raised their family and lived out their marriage. Especially in the past year, he faced his cancer diagnosis with unwavering determination and bravery, wanting to extend his time with Sharon and their precious children and grandchildren who adored him. His generosity and devotion to his family was extraordinary. To celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary a year ago, Mack and Sharon treated their kids and grandkids to a trip of a lifetime to Hawaii, where they had honeymooned in 1974 and later celebrated their 25th anniversary.

Mack joined the law firm in 1974 and became managing partner for an impressive 25 years until his retirement in 2021.  He was respected and loved by lawyers and clients alike, and he cared about all of them. Routinely chosen on lists of "Best Lawyers in America" and "Super Lawyers of St. Louis," Mack represented clients in federal, state, and administrative courts throughout the country. He taught labor relations at Washington University and was a frequent speaker on labor and employment law issues at seminars and conferences.  

Others sought his advice, which led him to serve on many boards, including BJC Hospital, Missouri Baptist Hospital, Ukraine Baptist Theological Seminary, and the Humane Society.

He loved God and his church family, investing much time serving as chairman of deacons, trustees, finance, personnel committees, and the Administrative Leadership Team at the First Baptist Church of Ellisville and Fellowship of Wildwood. He taught high school boys in Sunday school for many years.

Mack and his twin brother Jack were born on Aug. 3, 1947, in Denver, Colorado, where his father worked after serving in World War II. Six months later, they moved back to their mother's family farm near Boonville, Missouri. The twins began their formal education in a one-room school house with no running water but with outhouses and a nearby corral for students who rode horses to school. They helped their father put up hay, milk cows by hand, and other chores, while both moved through education paths that led to careers as attorneys. 

After earning an electrical engineering degree (cum laude) at the University of Missouri at Columbia, Mack stayed to add a law degree and to court Columbia's Sharon Neiger, the love of his life. 

Mack served in the Army and Air Force Reserves. A high school football and baseball athlete, he loved pickup basketball as an adult, and played on church baseball and softball teams, as well as enjoying tennis, skiing, and hunting. He was an avid reader, especially of American history. But in reviewing snapshots this week, family members noticed that nothing made Mack's eyes light up like spending time with his farflung grandchildren of North Carolina and Texas.

Mack's life earned a courtroom lawyer's closing summation that it was lived with faithfulness, loyalty, devotion, generosity, and integrity.

Survivors include Mack's wife Sharon; daughters Jennifer (Jeremy) Kindy of North Carolina and Julianne (Linden) Heldt of Texas; grandchildren Daniel, Timothy, and Joel Kindy, and Payton, Brooks, and Ainsley Heldt; and brother Jack McCarthy of Kansas City. He was preceded in death by his father Thomas Elvin McCarthy and mother Mary Edna Davis McCarthy.

Visitation will be 4-8 p.m. on Thursday May 15 at the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, 14960 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO 63011.

The funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Friday May 16 at the Fellowship of Wildwood, 17770 Mueller Road, Wildwood, MO 63038. 

Graveside service and burial will be at 4 p.m. on Friday May 16 at the Walnut Grove Cemetery, 1006 Locust Street, Boonville, MO 65233.

In loving memory of Mack, donations may be made to Fellowship of Wildwood or make checks payable to Ukraine Partnership Foundation (Ukraine Baptist Theological Seminary) P.O. Box 671, Chesterfield, MO 63006-0671.