February 17, 1946 - May 24, 2018

Robert “Tom” McCarthy, 72, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by family on May 24th, 2018.

He was born on February 17th, 1946 to Robert Sr. and Lucille McCarthy. Tom served in the U.S. Air Force, reaching the rank of sergeant, during the Vietnam War. He worked out of the DaNang Airbase as well as other deployments.  He then attended Marquette University, receiving an English Literature degree. Tom married the love of his life, Mary Pribble in 1974. They had 3 children. Tom and Mary owned “McCarthy’s Our Own Hardware” in Cedar Mall when it first opened. Tom returned to Marquette University for studies in Electrical Engineering. He worked at Cray Research as a technical writer, then for many years at McCarthy-Duce sales as a manufacturer’s representative until retirement.

Tom was a history buff, very much enjoyed family gatherings, golf and prison ministry through Cornerstone Church in Spooner. He was a great inspiration to many through his life and journey with cancer reminding us frequently “In Christ there are no goodbyes”. He was very proud of his nearly 100% Irish heritage and was a member of the American Legion Post 0540.

Tom is survived and will be greatly missed by his wife, Mary; his children, Marlo (McKensie) Gravunder, Tonya (Steve) Smith, and Elliot (Angela) McCarthy; grandchildren, Erin Stuntz, Drew (Summer) Stuntz, Gabriel (Shawnna) Stuntz, Katie (Isaac) Byard, Jerrica Farmer and Jared Farmer, Emily and Kayla McCarthy, Allie and Regan Helgeson, Matt and Bridget Jordan; two great-grandsons, Liam Farmer and Liam Stuntz; two sisters, Sharyn (Al) Duce, Marilyn (Don) Jorgensen.

Visitation will be held at Cornerstone Church, located at 106 Balsam Street, in Spooner, WI on June 2nd at 2 p.m., followed by a Celebration of Tom’s Life at 3 p.m.  Lunch will be provided after. Interment will be at Northern Wisconsin Memorial Veteran’s Cemetery at a later date.

Chippewa Valley Cremation Services in Altoona is serving the family.

Last Update: Dec 16, 2018 5:45 pm CST