John E. McCarthy

It’s fitting to call him Mr. McCarthy, because that’s how most of the people whose lives he touched knew him best. Mr. McCarthy was a high school history teacher, a football and baseball coach, a junior high school principal, assistant superintendent, and finally Superintendent of Schools in Swansea for nearly two decades. It was in this role in 1985 that he made national news when he became the first superintendent in the country to allow a child with AIDS to attend public school. That student, Mark Hoyle, passed away the following year, but a school in Swansea bears his name: the Mark Gardiner Hoyle Elementary School. At a recent ceremony, the school gymnasium was named for Mr. McCarthy. The current principal spoke, saying, “Personally, as a leader, I can only hope that I would have the strength, conviction, fortitude, courage, and Irish stubbornness” that John McCarthy showed during that difficult time. He addressed Mr. McCarthy directly, saying: “When others across the nation were making the wrong decision, you were making the right one.”

Mr. McCarthy was born in Providence, Rhode Island to John and Winifred McCarthy. He was a high-school athlete at St. Raphael’s Academy in Pawtucket, and graduated from Providence College in 1953. He was a member of the Rhode Island Air National Guard, retiring with the rank of Lt. Colonel. A devoted Catholic, he was a regular reader at Sunday mass, first at St. Dominic's in Swansea and later at St. Patrick's in Somerset. But Mr. McCarthy’s greatest sense of joy came from the accomplishments of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. His fondest memories included attending their athletic and performing arts events, spending the month of February on Sanibel Island in Florida surrounded by family, and 4th of July celebrations on Cape Cod.

He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Barbara, and their six children, Joanne (Francis), John (Connie), Kathleen (Gordon), Paula, Kevin (Patricia), and Stephen (Debra), their twelve grandchildren, Elizabeth, Kate, Jack, Andrew, Jay, Maggie, Jill, Ashley, Rebecca, Stephanie, Seth, and Trent, and four great grandchildren, Libby, Will, Charlie, and Nathaniel.

Visiting hours will be Sunday, November 12, 2017 from 4:00 to 7:00PM in the Waring-Sullivan Funeral Home at Birchcrest,189 Gardners Neck Road, Swansea. A funeral mass will be held on Monday, November 13, 2017 at 10:00AM at St. Patrick’s Church, 306 South Street, Somerset, Massachusetts. Burial in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Somerset. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John E. McCarthy may be sent to: Case High Scholarship Trust, P.O. Box 33, Swansea, MA 02777. Family and friends invited. For tributes and online registration. www.waring-sullivan.com