John L. McCARTHY

1947 - 2024

McCARTHY, John L. "Jack" Died peacefully in his sleep, on November 2, 2024, at his home in Naples, FL. His last days were filled with visits by family and loving friends. Jack was born on September 22, 1947 to Helen Lennon and John McCarthy, in Staten Island, NY. He was predeceased by two sisters, Rita Sullivan and Patrice Swingle.

Jack earned an MBA in Health Care Administration at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration at Villanova University. Jack was a dedicated Villanova fan and lived to see his beloved Villanova basketball team win two Championships.

Jack, a proud Vietnam-era veteran, spent five years in the Air Force. He also served as Squadron Commander and later as Chief Financial Officer at Luke AFB Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. Jack considered his jobs in the Air Force as some of the most transformative jobs in his life as he realized that he wanted to pursue a lifetime career in health care.

Following his graduation from The Wharton School in 1975, one of his early mentors convinced him to join him in a start-up Health Maintenance Organization in Philadelphia. His experience in these early HMO's led to other chief financial jobs at HMO's in New England. He also consulted to large Hospital Systems, Employers and the DHHS.

Jack's most notable professional accomplishment was his 25 year-long leadership as President of The Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Teaching Institutions (RMF). He provided strong oversight and support of CRICO (Harvard's signature medical malpractice claims program). While Jack was immensely proud of CRICO's record defending the Harvard doctors, nurses and clinicians if a case went to trial, he believed that it was the lessons learned from those cases that were the most valuable.

Jack built a management team that moved patient safety front and center in CRICO's strategic objectives and priorities. The doctors and clinicians realized that CRICO was not just a financial organization that made decisions about their cases based on money, but one that cared about them and their patients.

Jack loved fishing with his friends and had many great memories of beautiful rainbow trout at the end of his fly rod. While he loved wading in streams, he also enjoyed a day out on the golf course; his hole-in-one at Stonebridge Country Club was a retirement goal realized. He eagerly looked forward to his yearly trips to Scotland and Ireland with long-term friends and colleagues. Jack also loved his time on salt water. His 35-year-old Boston Whaler, "Spartina," took his children and now grandchildren on hair-raising tube rides on Narragansett Bay.

Jack loved Geri, his wife of 52 years. He so loved her that he went on 13 Vermont Bike Trips (VBT) in Europe. His preference would have been to sit on a beach on Cape Cod with 13 books! He took great pride in his children, Megan and Andrew. The delight of his later years was, of course, his grandchildren, Zoe, Gavin and Sam.

Jack McCarthy was a kind, caring, gentle human being who also happened to be very successful in life and love. A Celebration of Jack's Life will be held on May 10, 2025, at Rhode Island Country Club, in Barrington, Rhode Island, 4-7 PM. Service will begin promptly at 4:30pm, dinner following. If you so choose, gifts may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Jack's memory in support of Dr. Mark Pomerantz's research. Checks may be sent to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA. 02284 or jimmyfund.org/gift