Obituary: Joan McCarthy P’79
Joan McCarthy — a decades-long Staples soccer superfan, and the only mother and grandmother of Wrecker state champion players — died December 23, in her Westport home of 72 years. She was 97 years old.
Mrs. McCarthy grew up around sports. Her father was an international polo player, and at her private girls school in South Carolina she played field hockey, swam and was president of the Riding Club. She later coached a men’s swim team, which included a future Olympian.
She and her husband George moved to their Easton Road home in 1950. Directions to their home — now 2 doors down from Coleytown Elementary School — were simply “2nd house after the Merritt Parkway.’
Mrs. McCarthy became a Girl Scout troop leader, and worked at Staples, Coleytown Junior High and Assumption School.
But she is most remembered for her sports activities. She served for nearly 20 years with Westport Little League, in many roles. She was official scorekeeper at the local, district and state levels. In 1973 she became the first female official scorekeeper at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania — a feat noted by Sports Illustrated.
In 1975 Mrs. McCarthy was the first woman honored by the Sportsmen of Westport. She received their Citizenship Award.
An avid soccer fan through her son Stuart, she helped found the Westport Soccer Association in 1975 (with, among others, Albie Loeffler and Dan Woog). She was the registrar and organizer for many of Stuart’s youth teams, and attended Wrecker games long after he graduated in 1979. She was there on The Hill too, cheering on her grandson Michael and granddaughter Colleen when they played for Staples. Her state champion “double” came courtesy of Stuart’s title in 1978, and Michael’s in 2009.
In addition to Stuart, Mrs. McCarthy is survived by her sons Tom and Douglas; daughters Sharon, Joan and Tara, and 7 grandchildren.
Joan, Michael and Stuart McCarthy, at Staples’ 2010 graduation.
