Merrick Fifield McCarthy, Jr.

Merrick Fifield McCarthy, Jr., age 95, of Alanson, Michigan, died Friday morning, February 5, 2016, in Hiland Cottage in Petoskey, Michigan.

Services were held on Wednesday, February 10, 2016, at Stone Funeral Home in Petoskey. Hospice Chaplain Dianne Myers officiated. Family graveside services and burial will be in the spring at the Littlefield Township Cemetery in Alanson.

Merrick was born May 4, 1920, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the son of Merrick F. McCarthy, Sr. and Hazel Marjorie (Porter) McCarthy. He grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Walnut Hills High School, graduating in 1938. He attended the University of Cincinnati for two years. His education was interrupted by WWII. He enlisted in the US Army in February 1943. He married Virginia R. Butz of Cincinnati on May 23, 1943 while on leave. He served from June 1943 to August 1944 in North Africa.

Upon his discharge in 1946, he resumed his education at University of Cincinnati, receiving a degree in metallurgical engineering in 1950. While raising his family in Wyoming, Ohio, he worked at Peerless Foundry Company in Cincinnati and then at Black-Clawson in Hamilton, Ohio.

In 1971, the family moved to Springfield, Ohio where he was the plant manager of Otis Elevator in London, Ohio until he retired. He then did independent consulting for Advance Foundry Company in Dayton, Ohio among others.

He moved to Alanson, Michigan in 1984 where he and Virginia lived on property that had been in his family for generations and where he had spent many summers of his youth.

Merrick loved classical music and had a natural talent for singing. He passed his talent and enthusiasm on to his children who are all skilled musicians and singers.

He was an inquisitive person with a wide range of interests. Even in his eighties, he could be found in his rowboat on Pickerel Lake taking water samples for the PCLA (Pickerel-Crooked Lakes Association).

He was an avid baseball fan and enjoyed following the Detroit Tigers.

He never lost his sense of humor and will be remembered for his unfailing kindness and lively discussions on topics ranging from the origin of the universe to the mundane world of politics. He was an animal lover and always had a dog.

Virginia died October 12, 2002. Merrick was preceded in death by his sister, Suzanne Gunderson and his brother, David. He is survived by his five children; Merrick F. McCarthy, III, Marjorie A. Young, Barbara Suzanne (Mother Brigid), Virginia Lee and Michael Stephen. He is also survived by his six grandchildren; Erin, Christopher, Patrick, Merrick, Barry and Garrett and two great-grandchildren.

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