Mary Getman McCarthy

Mary earned a BA in History and a MA in Education from the University of Buffalo, and worked as a high school teacher in western New York. While at UB, Mary was Secretary of the Chi Omega Sorority and a member of the badminton team.

During WWII, Mary X-rayed military airplane engines at a converted Chevy plant in Tonawanda, NY, while Bill served in the Army in Europe.

Mary loved her family and all children, and was president of the River Road PTA for two years. Mary’s husband, Bill, was an Account Executive at the Carborundum Company in Niagara Falls, NY, and the family entertained extensively. At these events, Mary always ensured that the children present enjoyed the events as much as the adults, with activities like fishing pools with prizes, piñatas, and for the younger children, unique toys. Mary and Bill also sponsored a child through “Save the Children”.

Mary and her family traveled frequently while the children were growing up, exploring almost every state east of the Mississippi. When the children were in college, the travel extended to Europe, South America, Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean.

When Mary and Bill retired, they became snowbirds, spending the winters in Key Largo and the summers in Niagara Falls. The also spent two weeks every spring in Cozumel, Mexico, taking their children with them in 1984. They also took their children with them on trips to Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico and Puerto Rico and also explored England, France, Spain, the Canary Islands, Italy and Greece. With their wonderful circle of friends from Key Largo, they traveled around the United States and Canada, including a trip to Alaska.

In 1991, the children threw a surprise 50th wedding anniversary party for the couple, inviting friends, relatives, coworkers and neighbors of their parents who extended back to the parent’s childhoods.

Mary was preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, William Nathan McCarthy, and is survived by two children, Colleen McCarthy of Cary, NC, and Maureen McCarthy, of Miami, FL; one grandchild, Camila Castaneda of Miami, FL; and a sister, June Walter of Hamburg, NY.

Visitation will be at the Brown-Wynne Funeral Home at 200 SE Maynard Road, Cary, NC, 27511 NC from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 30, 2016. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Public TV or NPR.

Arrangements under the direction of Brown-Wynne Funeral Home, Cary, North Carolina.