Charles Edward McCarthy Jr.

Charles Edward McCarthy, Jr. Charles Edward McCarthy, Jr., known to friends and family as Chuck, died of cancer on February 6, 2010, at the age of 69. Born on February 2, 1941, and raised in Houston, he was the oldest child of the late Charles E. "Chick" McCarthy and Josephine Howell McCarthy. He was very proud of his heritage as a sixth-generation Texan through his mother, a direct descendent of the founder of Robertson's Colony in pre-republic Texas. She was born in the antebellum Robertson family home that still stands at Salado. His McCarthy great-grandparents emigrated from County Kerry, Ireland, but did not meet and marry until they arrived in the American heartland. Chuck's love of golf came from his father, a former president of the Houston Golf Association. His late uncle William H. McCarthy did important work in the rare book collections of Yale, Harvard, and the University of Texas and served as the first director of the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia. Chuck attended St. Anne's and St. Thomas High School in Houston, Blinn Junior College, Sul Ross State at Alpine, and the University of Texas. Because of his family heritage, he had an avid interest in Texas and U.S. history, loved books, and read widely throughout his adult life. He had first-hand experience as a Texas cowboy, having worked on large ranches in south and west Texas in his younger years, and he spent a year in Alaska working for a company that built offshore oil drilling platforms. Before settling in Austin he was a stock trader for two brokerage firms. For 36 years Chuck lived in Austin, and for more than a decade he was a regular guest on his friend Cactus Pryor's radio show on KLBJ. He was an extraordinary storyteller and was never at a loss for anecdotes about the experiences, people, and places he had known. He founded one of Austin's first comprehensive tree- care companies and was an early expert on oak wilt and oak decline in central Texas. He moved on to establish a dirt company that provided good soil for many Austin landscapes. In the 1990s he developed a previously unsuspected talent as an artist-blacksmith, beginning with wrought-iron garden- ware sold in several national garden catalogs. Later he created wrought-iron gates, fences, and beautiful one-of-a kind bed headboards and tables with wrought iron, inlaid exotic woods, etched glass, and/or carved limestone. He left his mark on his neighborhood of Westlake Oaks with greenbelt gates, benches, swings, and sculpture. In Austin he built the wrought-iron gate and fence fronting the Austin State Hospital Cemetery on 51st Street and contributed the wrought ironwork included in Plaza Saltillo in East Austin. He leaves his wife of 26 years, Rebecca A. Baltzer, professor emerita of musicology at the University of Texas; his sister Judith M. Howells and husband Richard of Bastrop; his brother Terry and nephew Brett McCarthy of Alexandria, VA; his son from a previous marriage, John Travis McCarthy of Houston; his nephew Ted McCarthy and family of Austin; his half-uncle, Jefferson D. Howell of Bee Cave; and a multitude of cousins. His family is grateful to Dr. Punit Chadha and the caring staff at Texas Oncology South, St. David's South Austin Medical Center, Encompass Home Health Care, and especially Hospice Austin and their Christopher House, where he spent the last week of his life. In accordance with Chuck's wishes, there will be no funeral, but a memorial gathering will be scheduled in the spring. Friends and family can receive notification of the date, time, and place by sending an e-mail to " target="_blank" rel="nofollow, noindex" class="obit-text-link">http://. Those desiring to make memorial gifts may do so to the Westbank Community Library, 1309 Westbank Drive, Austin 78746, or to the charity of their choice. All Faiths Funeral Service South is in charge of arrangements.