Joy H. McCary

The aptly-named Joy (Joy is actually a family name) was born April 21, 1928 in Washington, DC to Michael and Sylvia Heinrichs. Her spirited maternal grandmother, known affectionately as Ma Mae, played an important role in her life. Joy was in Job’s Daughters, Eastern Star, and the United States Daughters of 1812. Her father, known as Foxy, was an officer in the Marine Corps, and her mother worked at Marine Corps headquarters during WWII. Joy often recounted the story of her train trip to San Francisco and the only months she lived away from the DC area. She returned to attend McKinley High School and the University of Maryland.

On December 12, 1947 she married Joseph W McCary, a resourceful and outgoing family man, and they moved from DC, where Joe Jr. was born, to Chillum and then to Shady Side, MD, where they ran the Bay View Inn with her parents. While Joe worked for Pepco during the week, Joy drove an ambulance for the 7th District Rescue Squad in Shady Side. Michael was born while they lived in Shady Side. They bought their first house in Wheaton in 1956. Robert (Kim) was born shortly after the move, and later, Bryan.

In Wheaton, Joy tolerated and sometimes even encouraged Joe’s hobbies: flying a Swift airplane, power boating on the Chesapeake, wood-working, photography, raising orchids, cooking, baking (even wedding cakes and gingerbread houses), sailing, camping, ceramics, orchid-raising, sewing, and bee-keeping. Once Joe and Joy candied grapefruit shells and baked fruitcake in the shells for Christmas gifts. While Joe was Boy Scout leader, Joy was a Merit Badge Counselor. She was on the women’s committee at St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Aspen Hill. She had her hands full, taking care of five mischievous males, led by the imperturbable Joe Sr. Some of their memorable escapades include a spaghetti fight in the dining room, real bows and arrows in the basement, fireworks in the backyard, attempting to fly off the roof, breaking bones in a swing set accident, throwing encyclopedias out of second floor windows, and shooting ornaments off the Christmas tree with a Johnny Reb cannon. (This last was Joe Sr!) Joy controlled her wild tribe and all the neighborhood kids with THE LOOK. Everyone loved her fried chicken, a labor of love requiring an entire day.

Family vacations were camping experiences with notable excursions to Swallow Falls and Westmoreland State Park. Joy enjoyed upgrading to a plush camper and their sailboat, Spirit.

When the boys were older, Joy served for 25 years as office manager for Doctors Ostrow, Shapiro and Galotto of Silver Spring until her retirement (twice) in 1991.

Once the boys were safely out of the house and Joe made management at Pepco, Joy and Joe moved to Olney. There were countless family celebrations, pig roasts with Rotary, and crab feasts. Joy was a consummate hostess, often having over twenty for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner and as many as fifty to her home for special functions. Joy was proud of the accomplishments of her boys and daughters-in-law and her grandchildren. She loved family traditions, giving her granddaughters special rings for their 12th and 16th birthdays and all her grandkids a silver ornament every year for Christmas.

She moved her parents into their Olney home from Florida and nursed her mother, who had Alzheimer’s, there until her death, then took care of Foxy until he passed away shortly afterward.

When Joe Sr. died in 2002, Joy continued to be the one her sons and daughters-in-law turned to for advice. She was a classy lady, remembering all her grandchildren’s important moments and celebrating the activities of four great grandchildren. At long last able to clear the basement of Big Joe’s hobby equipment, she happily moved to Leisure World almost four years ago. She was energetic, forceful, opinionated, classy, and maintained her sense of humor right up to the end. Her children and those who she adopted as her children celebrate a long life well lived. She was a force of nature, strong, refined, and loving. We were lucky to have her in our lives.

Joy leaves behind four sons, Joseph Jr., Michael, Robert (Kim), and Bryan and her daughters-in-law Mary, Barbara, Jacquelyn (Jacquie), and Dolly. Joy was the loving grandmother of Jessie, Christopher and his wife Christine, Mandi, Justin and his wife Lauren, David and his wife Ariel, Laura, Brandon and his wife Anca and Ryan. She will be missed by her great grandchildren Claire, Natalie, Adam, and Noah.

The family will receive visitors March 22 from 2-4 pm and 6-8 pm at Hines-Rinaldi Funeral Home, 11800 New Hampshire Ave. in Silver Spring. A private family interment will be March 23 at Cedar Hill Cemetery. On March 24 a Celebration of Life Memorial will be held from 3-5 pm in the party room at 3210 North Leisure World Blvd., Silver Spring, MD. in lieu of flowers please make donations to Montgomery Hospice Casey House:

https://www.montgomeryhospice.org/patients-families/why-montgomery-hospice/casey-house