John Joseph McCarthy Jr.

Life Story John Joseph "Papa" McCarthy passed away on June 25 at Alpine Meadows Assisted Living in Meridian, Idaho. John was born on April 30, 1924 in Long Island, New York to Joseph and Margaret McCarthy. He had an older sister, Dorothy, who passed away in 1980. When he was 8 years old, the family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida where his parents were night club entertainers. Later in life, his dad remarried and John was blessed with another sister, Deb. John joined the U.S. Marine Corps when he was 17 years old, just prior to the outbreak of WWII. During the war, he was assigned to the 1st Marine Division where he participated in the assault and capture of the islands of Guadalcanal and Peleliu, and Cape Gloucester, New Guinea. He was wounded on both Guadalcanal and Peleliu and received a Purple Heart on both. John's wounds on Peleliu were severe enough he had to be evacuated to Australia where he spent months recovering. He loved to regale anyone with his tales of his exploits in Australia. After John returned to the United States near the end of the war, he met his wife Joyce Willson who was also a Marine serving in South Carolina. They married two weeks later and were together until Joyce passed away. After being discharged from the Marines, they moved to Joyce's hometown of Big Pine, California where their first two children, Johnny and Susan were born. In 1957, the family moved 15 miles up the road to Bishop, California where their son Kent was born. John worked as an electrician for 20 years and retired in 1968 due to a heart condition caused by multiple bouts of malaria, dengue fever and dysentery during his time on the Pacific Islands in the war. After retiring, John and Joyce spent many years camping in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and on the beaches of Mexico. After Joyce's death in 1993, and Johnny's death in 1996, John moved to Yreka, California to be close to his daughter and her family where he made many dear friends. John lived in Yreka until 2015 when he moved to Meridian, ID to live with his son Kent and family. Idaho Governor Butch Otter declared August 27th, 2016 to be John Joseph McCarthy Day to honor his heroic service in WWII and the proclamation was presented to him during a ceremony at the WarHawk Air Museum in Nampa, ID. This was one of the biggest honors of his life! In September 2017, John moved into Alpine Meadows Assisted Living in Meridian where he was cared for by the wonderful and loving staff. He also received superb care from both Horizon and Harrison's Hope Hospices. The family deeply appreciates this care during the last months of his life. And a big thank you to Teri from Harrison's Hope for arranging the WarHawk event. John was preceded in death by his wife, Joyce; sister, Dorothy and son, Johnny. He is survived by his sister, Deb Lower, of Ashtabula, OH; daughter, Susan (Bill) Shaw of Medford, OR; his son Kent (Barbara) McCarthy of Meridian, ID and his "adopted" son, Chuck Senior of San Pedro, CA. He is also survived by 7 grandchildren: Amy, Angie, Karen, Katie, Kelly, Matt & Shannon; 14 great-grandchildren and 5 great great-grandchildren. A committal ceremony will be held at the Idaho Veterans Cemetery on Friday, July 13, 2018 at 10:00 AM. Remembrances may be left for the family at www.AccentFuneral.com. Services are under the direction of Accent Funeral Home, Meridian. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to St. Jude's Children's Hospital; John's favorite charity. We will miss you and always love you Papa! *See "Service Information" tab for service details.