HERO
Margaret Peg McCarthy
1937 - 2008

When Margaret “Peg” McCarthy resigned as executive director of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) so that she could devote more time to caring for her mother Esther Saunders who was in a nursing home, trustees and everyone connected with RSVP were deeply saddened. Peg was the perfect person to succeed Lois Filipic, who had done so much to start and expand RSVP. Lois herself was ecstatic that Peg McCarthy would succeed her. I was ecstatic too because when Peg applied for the executive director’s job, she asked me, a member of the RSVP search committee, to nominate her to replace Lois which I was honored and happy to do.

Peg had outstanding credentials. She was a graduate of St. Joseph Academy in Cleveland, she earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College in Washington, D.C. and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.

There were some other strong candidates for the position, but Peg’s presentation and her credentials persuaded the RSVP trustees that Peg McCarthy was the right person for the position of executive director. Her work in subsequent years proved that indeed she was.

At a dinner party that Peg and her husband Jack attended, someone congratulated Peg on receiving a prestigious volunteer award. Peg immediately said that the award was not for her but for RSVP. Peg did not have an inflated ego that needed to be constantly fed. She recognized the contributions of others-- staff, volunteers, trustees -- and did not hesitate to praise them.

When Peg retired, I wrote a piece thanking her parents Joseph and Esther Saunders for giving us Peg, a woman of character. I quoted James Terry White, whose book on character development (now out of print) listed essential elements as obedience, honesty, truthfulness, unselfishness, sympathy, consecration to duty, justice, imagination, courtesy, self reliance, and courage.

I don't know if Peg’s parents ever read White's book to help them in the formation of their children's characters. But it's obvious that they got it right. Peg was our living textbook on what character means and as such she will never be out of print or out of style.

Unfortunately our living textbook on character, Peg McCarthy, is no longer with us. Just a few weeks ago she wrote to us and told us that she had an aggressive form of cancer. She decided on palliative care rather than radiation or chemo. We had a ten minute visit with her a couple of weeks later, and about three weeks ago Anita and I took over a dinner for her and her daughter Megan who had taken off a year from her teaching duties in Chicago in order to be with Peg, and Carolyn, another daughter who was visiting that week.

We were planning a menu for another dinner when one morning we received this e-mail from Kathy Walsh, one of Peg’s daughters:

It is with great sadness that I write to tell you that our wonderful mother passed away last night. She was free from pain and resting peacefully in her bed, with Megan and my cousin, Colleen, by her side.

We had just enjoyed the gift of a memorable Thanksgiving in her home with all of her family.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Nickels and Andrade Funeral Home on Madison Avenue in Cleveland. Visitation hours will be Friday, Dec 5th, 5pm to 8pm. The funeral mass will take place on Saturday, Dec 6th, 12 noon, at St. Christopher's Church in Rocky River.

We continue to thank all of you for your love and support during this most difficult time.

With great thanks,

Megan, Carolyn, Kathy, and Maureen

Anita and I will miss you, Peg, and your husband Jack, who died on August 7, 2007. Eternal rest to both of you.

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