Matthew Patrick McCarthy

McCARTHY-Matthew Patrick, 69, of Dayton, Ohio, and Belleair, Florida, passed away Thursday, July 20, 2006, of cancer. He was born in Brooklyn, raised in Queens and formerly of Merrick, N.Y. Matt was a social studies teacher for 30 years in New York City and was a social studies department chairman at East Meadow High School. Throughout his distinguished career he received many awards for advances in social studies education. In 1987 he received the Yavner Award for Social Studies Holocaust Teacher of the Year. On that day, United States Senator Alfonse D'Amato described Matt as "the greatest social studies teacher in the country." He retired in 1992 and moved to Dayton, OH, to marry Mary Lou (Sharkey) McCarthy. Matt was the beloved husband of Mary Lou, the loving father of Stefanie Maura (Michael) Lipsey, Sea Cliff, N.Y., Michael Eric McCarthy, Manhattan, Amy Susan (Schuyler) Bush, Amherst, Mass., and stepchildren, Jeffrey Shea (Michelle) Sharkey, Dayton, OH, and Elizabeth Mary (Miguel) Parilo, Dayton, OH. His seven cherished grandchildren include Joseph Parker and Jessica Rose Lipsey, Sea Cliff, N.Y., Jade Rebecca and Samantha Rhiannon Bush, Amherst, MA, Bryan Gerard and Jennie Anne Sharkey, Dayton, OH, and Daniel Miguel Parilo, Dayton, OH. Matt had two sisters, Kathleen McCarthy, Manhattan, NY, Virginia Fitzsimmons (deceased), a brother-in-law Edward Fitzsimmons, Ridge, N.Y., and a brother, Michael McCarthy. His nieces and nephew include Maureen (Marty) Murphy, Boca Raton, Fla., Kathleen (Richard) Miccio, Holiday, Fla., Mary Ellen (Peter) Barbieri, Scarsdale, N.Y., Edward (Mary Ann) Fitzsimmons, Allentown, Pa., and five greatnieces and nephews. Donations to honor Matt's lifelong commitment to education can be made to a scholarship fund dedicated to "a C student with potential." Please make all donations in the name of Matthew Patrick McCarthy to the Kiwanis Foundation, 2332 Fairhill Lane, Kettering, OH 45429.