Richard Mccarthy

A Memorial Service will be held in Christ Church in Fitchburg on Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 11:00AM. Family will receive friends and family in the church from 10:00am until the time of the service.

Memorial contributions may be made to Christ Church, 569 Main St. Fitchburg, MA 01420



OBITUARY

Ashby – Richard McCarthy, 88, of Ashby, passed away on August 15, 2015 in Saint Vincent’s Hospital.

He was born and brought up in Newton, MA. After graduating from Newton High School in 1944, Mr. McCarthy spent two years in the Navy. He attended Harvard and graduated in 1948 with a major in Political Science.

He started his career in education as an Assistant Professor at Northeastern University where he served as a Coordinator in the Cooperative Education Department. He was a Fraternity Advisor and kept statistics and charts for the football team. He then began a career in Human Resources in the high tech industry where he did extensive recruiting, installed compensation plans, wrote employee handbooks and carried out a myriad of other assignments. One of his most enjoyable positions was managing the Human Resource Department at the Smithsonian Institution’s Astrophysical Observatory which was located on Harvard’s campus, sharing quarters with the Harvard Astronomy Department.

For the last twenty five years of his working life Mr. McCarthy ran his own management consulting firm. He specialized in helping small family owned businesses solve problems including secession planning, building, compensation structures and policies, reducing costs, developing long range business plans, installing competitive and cost effective benefit programs. To do this, he developed a tool, the Management Audit, which enabled him to pin point the root causes of problems. He also developed a Career Planning Audit which he used in giving career counseling to individuals at all levels.

For many years, Mr. McCarthy was very active in the Episcopal Church, particularly Good Shepherd in West Fitchburg and Christ Church in Fitchburg. He served many capacities including; Lay Eucharistic Minister, Lay Reader, Bible Study Leader, Vestry Member, Cursillo Board Member and Rector, Home Church Leader, Prayer Ministry Member, Alpha Leader, and was a member of numerous study groups and retreats. Bishop Wissermann appointed him Mentor for the Lay Eucharistic Ministers and Lay Readers for the seven Churches in his Deanery.

Mr. McCarthy was an avid reader, loved solving crossword puzzles, and enjoyed time spent on his computer. He is survived by his daughter Taryn McCarthy of Ashby, who took wonderful care of him in the last years of his life. His wife, Eunice, died in 1994.