Marie "Mollie" McCarthy

Marie “Mollie” McCarthy

“A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies…. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her… Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.”                               Proverbs 31:10,28, 31 NIV

Marie “Mollie” Walsh McCarthy passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on Friday evening, August 8, 2025, at her longtime home in Hawthorne, NY. She was 96 years old. A much beloved teacher, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt, and dear friend to many, Mollie was born on July 31, 1929 in Dobbs Ferry, NY to the late John Francis and Marie Baker Walsh.

A 1946 graduate of Dobbs Ferry High School, where she served as art editor for the school yearbook, the Periauger, Mollie was also active in the science, Spanish and ushers clubs; the chorus, dramatic and glee clubs; the photography club and activities council. She was also a drum majorette and twirler. She then went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in education from the State University of New York at New Paltz in 1950, followed by a master’s degree in developmental and remedial reading from City College of the City University of New York in 1972.

Mollie worked as an elementary school teacher in the 1950s at Carrie Tompkins Elementary School in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, and then, in the 1970s and 1980s, was employed as an elementary school teacher and remedial reading specialist in the Pleasantville School District, Pleasantville, NY.

An avid traveler, Mollie, with her husband, Bill, and children, visited every state in the Union, camping across the country with their tent trailer in tow and stopping at many national parks and historic sites. Later, she and Bill would continue to satisfy their wanderlust by travelling to many nations around the world, among them Portugal, Ireland, Kenya, China, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Figi and Russia. By the time her husband passed away in 2004, they had set foot on six out of seven continents. She would later fulfill a lifelong dream with her daughter, Sue, and visit Egypt, one of her most favorite trips of all. She and Sue would also travel to numerous other places, even embarking on a Caribbean cruise together in 2024, when Mollie was 94.

When not gallivanting around the globe, Mollie enjoyed spending time at the family vacation house in Brant Lake, NY, or their winter home on Nettles Island, FL.

Throughout her life, Mollie fulfilled a dream she expressed many years ago in her high school yearbook as her life’s goal: “to win friends and influence people.” She excelled at this throughout her life, and became a great inspiration to all her family and the many people she won with her genuine warmth, kindness, and sincere interest, attention and dedication.

Mollie is survived by her brother, John F. “Jack” Walsh (wife, Caroline), her daughter, Susan McCarthy Palmer, sons William E. McCarthy (wife, Margaret) and Mark J. McCarthy (wife, Sarah), grandchildren Andrew McCarthy (fiancee Rachel), Meaghan McCarthy (husband Alex Flick), Pim McCarthy, Bruno McCarthy, and Agnes McCarthy; great grandchildren Madeleine and Will Flick, Chloe Sikirica (mother of Pim and Bruno), and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her son John D. McCarthy, husband William E. McCarthy,and son-in-law William B. Palmer.

A wake will be held on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, from 4-8 p.m. at Hawthorne Funeral Home, 21 W. Stevens Avenue, Hawthorne, NY. A funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, August 28, 2025 at 10 a.m. at Holy Rosary Church, 170 Bradhurst Avenue, Hawthorne, NY. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY.

Friends are welcome to make donations in Mollie’s honor to the St. Joseph’s Indian School (give.stjo.org) or the Hudson Headwaters Health Center, Chestertown, NY. (https://www.hhhn.org/support/)..