BEVIN SMITH MCCARTHY

1974 - 2018

McCARTHY, Bevin Smith Bevin Elizabeth Smith McCarthy filled our world with color, light, laughter, energy, music, adventure, and love. Throughout her life, she was surrounded by loving friends and family who were with her as she made her final journey to the next world on August 13, after a brief and devastating illness. No one who met her can ever forget her vibrant, welcoming spirit, her warm hugs, her ringing laughter, and her bright smile. Bevin was born in Boston on September 30, 1974 to proud parents, Marcia and William "Smitty" Smith. Growing up in Sudbury, she pursued passions in music, drama, swimming, soccer, travel, and a deep commitment to social justice. She graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury High School and Gettysburg College. At Gettysburg, she was active in service learning activities, serving at a shelter in Chester PA, on an Apache reservation in Arizona, and with the migrant community in the Gettysburg area. After graduation she served her country in the Peace Corps, undertaking an extended tour of service in Bolivia that would total over three years. Her legacy of service remains there, manifest in the Centro de Apoyo Escolar y Recreacion Educativa, the school which Bevin and her Peace Corps colleagues started in rural Bolivia almost 20 years ago and which continues in operation today. Upon returning from Peace Corps, Bevin taught Spanish in the Acton and Newton public schools. During her tenure in Newton, she participated in an exchange program teaching in China. Always seeking adventure, Bevin soon moved to Portland, Oregon, where she would once teach Spanish, perform community service, and become the Assistant Director of Pacific University's Center for Civic Engagement. In 2017 Bevin was honored with the Pacific University Diversity and Justice Award. In Portland, she met her soulmate, the love of her life, Nicolas McCarthy. Together they made a beautiful life and were the adoring parents of two wonderful boys, Felix Loomis and Jasper Dennis. Besides her husband, children, and parents, Bevin also leaves her twin brother, Louis, and her two sisters, Caeli and Jillian, 5 nephews, a niece, as well as a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear friends. Bevin plunged into life with joy and gusto. A lifelong Baha'i, her life exemplified her faith's principle of the oneness of mankind and service to humanity. Her professional life, in which she taught and ran civic engagement programs, was a fitting reflection of her private life, in which her ever widening circle of friends embraced her vibrant spirit and open heart, returning the love she so willingly shared. Bevin was committed to making the world a better, more just and inclusive place. She would want us to honor that commitment, as best we are able, in her memory. Those of us who loved Bevin not only mourn her death, but also celebrate her life. We cry because she is gone, but we smile and laugh when we remember her sense of humor, her passion for adventure, and her radiant spirit. There will be a celebration of her life on September 30 at 2 PM at Curtis Middle School in Sudbury. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Bevin's memory can be made online at http://www.gettysburg.edu/onlinegiving. Please note that the gift is for The Heston Summer Fellows Fund. Gifts can also be mailed to Gettysburg College, Development Office, Box 423, 300 North Washington St., Gettysburg, PA 17325

View the online memorial for Bevin Smith McCARTHY