“Mr. Holy Cross,” continued ...

As a junior, McCarthy snagged the Bulger Award for Outstanding Player in New England. In addition, he was selected First Team All-East, a squad that also featured Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis of Syracuse.

The regimentation and discipline of campus life had a profound influence on McCarthy. If a student lived on a corridor with a prefect, he would be checked in at night—and it was expected that he would be studying or sleeping. If a student wanted to sign out for the weekend, his parents would be given a copy of the sign-out sheet.

“Comparatively, my life in the Marine Corps was a piece of cake,” McCarthy says. “Holy Cross played a major role in shaping me as a person.”

According to McCarthy’s friend Jim Bell ’63, he didn’t always embrace the discipline.

“When we were juniors, Pat had a car—which was forbidden unless you were a senior—that he hid off campus in a nearby garage,” Bell says.

McCarthy would let Bell use his car to squire Bell’s future wife, Rosemary, around town on weekends.

After graduating from Holy Cross, McCarthy began what he thought would be a career in the Marines. In all, he spent five years in the Corps, prior to his discharge in 1968. McCarthy had entered the Marines as a second lieutenant and fulfilled his basic training in Quantico, Va., where he also played football with Golden as a teammate.

“That first year we came back and played Holy Cross, and we beat them,” McCarthy says.

After two years at Quantico, McCarthy shipped out to Hawaii. By this time he was married to his high school sweetheart, Beverley—and the couple had one child. Forty-five days after arriving in Hawaii, McCarthy found himself on a ship sailing to Vietnam, although neither he nor Beverley knew it.

“We were the first group of Marines to go into Vietnam,” he explains. “Aboard ship, we learned we were going to make an amphibious assault at Chu Lai.”

“There were about 19 kids on the beach with American flags and Coke bottles when we landed,” he says.

This was the beginning of a 13-month tour in Vietnam for McCarthy. An artillery officer, he served with the 3rd Marine Division out of Da Nang. McCarthy came back to the United States in 1966, where he spent his last two years in the Marines at the Naval Base in Newport, R.I.

Golden says the same qualities that made McCarthy a great friend and athlete—leadership, loyalty, courage, caring for others and attention to duty—are the same characteristics that made him a great Marine.

“I’m convinced that, had Pat McCarthy stayed in the Marine Corps., he would have been a general,” he adds.

McCarthy returned to Holy Cross to set up job interviews when he was discharged from the service. Although offered a position with Shawmut Bank, he learned about an opening in the Alumni Office from Golden, who, at the time, was working in the College’s Development Office.
 
“I didn’t think I wanted to be a banker, so I took the job at Holy Cross,” McCarthy explains. “I thought I’d stay a year or two and decide what I really wanted to do. Thirty-nine years later, I’m still here.”

McCarthy spent his first year working in development on the Annual Fund. Then he was asked to take over as the director of alumni relations. When McCarthy started in the position there were 11,000 members of the Alumni Association; today there are more than 35,000.

“One thing that distinguishes Holy Cross is its network of alumni—their great loyalty to the College and their passion for the College,” says Holy Cross President, Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J. “Pat has done more than anyone to maintain that connection over the last 30 years. He has gained the respect of all alumni. I’ve come to admire Pat tremendously. He’s taught me to love and respect Holy Cross and its people. He’s a model for everything Holy Cross stands for.”

Richard R. Delfino ’60, former president of the Alumni Association, says that McCarthy worked tirelessly to merge the Alumni Council and General Alumni Association into one organization. McCarthy was also deeply involved with the development of most of the Alumni Association programs, according to Delfino—including the Student and Alumni/ae Career Network, life insurance, short-term medical insurance and the credit card and travel programs.

“Pat became synonymous with Holy Cross for those of us in the GAA,” Delfino explains. “Without him there would be no Alumni Association and no alumni participation. He did it with style, dignity and patience—patience being the key word. What Pat has meant to Holy Cross has been immeasurable.”

Holy Cross president emeritus, Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., ’49, who spent countless weeks on the road over the years with McCarthy—traveling the country meeting with alumni—says it was a pleasure to get to know McCarthy so well.

“We were close,” Fr. Brooks notes. “He has a great sense of humor. We laughed a lot on those trips. He’s a strong representative of the College. You couldn’t have a better person working with alumni. I’m sorry he’s leaving, but he deserves his retirement.”

McCarthy is also widely admired as a strong family man. He and Beverley raised four children, Patrick ’86, Sean ’87, Kevin ’89 and Beth. Kevin and Beth are both deceased, tragedies that Delfino says their parents handled with “humility, dignity and grace.”

“People know the tragedies Pat has had in his personal life,” Fr. McFarland observes, “and also the courage and faith he has had to get him through.”

Working at Holy Cross also allowed McCarthy to spend more time with his wife and children than he would have had pursuing a corporate career. He was able to coach his sons’ Little League teams and be there for their other sports events.

“Holy Cross tends to be like a family,” McCarthy says.

On July 1, Kristyn M. Dyer ’94, associate director of alumni relations, assumed the position of director, taking over from McCarthy, whom she calls “a great mentor.”

“Succeeding Pat is an overwhelming prospect,” Dyer says. “For many people, Pat McCarthy is the face of Holy Cross.
 
“We have a kind of a joke in the office,” she continues, “when faced with a tough decision you have to put your ‘Pat hat’ on. It means you have to make decisions that are not always popular but which will benefit the College and alumni in the long run.”

Fr. McFarland may have summed up Pat McCarthy best when he calls him a “real Marine,” who is “loyal, steady and courageous.”

“He doesn’t back down in a fight,” Fr. McFarland says. “Pat’s not disrespectful, but he holds his ground. He’s very strong in his positions, but he’s reasonable and clear and people respect that.”

Pat McCarthy is loved and admired by friends and colleagues, partly for his service to his beloved alma mater, but mostly for the man he is. He never intended to stay at Holy Cross, but he will always be remembered as a stalwart friend with a strong sense of duty, a quick laugh, tireless work ethic and unfailing devotion.

“I anticipated only staying here a couple of years,” McCarthy says.

“You look around and see guys who have been here forever and say that’s not going to happen to me,” he adds with a chuckle. “How wrong you can be! When I look back and ask was it worth it, I have to say, ‘absolutely.’”