Obituary of Patricia Mary McCarthy

Patricia Mary McCarthy, 76, who was known to her many friends and colleagues as Pat, died on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021. As she wished, she died peacefully in her home in Chapel Hill.

Pat had a wry sense of humor, which made her a hit at parties and work. She loved to travel, and her first love was Italy. She had a great sense of style. Her idea of the perfect Thanksgiving dinner was pate, brie and champagne. She loved cats, and they loved her.

She spent much of her life in Chapel Hill, in two periods. The first began in the 1970s after she moved to North Carolina and became director of publications-communications for Family Health International. She worked there for five years, 1977-82, and made many lifelong friends.

Pat then moved to Baltimore, MD, where she had a successful career in publishing and health communications. She was with the Baltimore Sun Newspapers from 1983-91. Pat began as manager of public relations and moved up through the ranks to manage the company’s magazine subsidiary, Country Sun, Inc. Then she became publisher and executive editor at International Medical News Group (Elsevier Science) from 1993-2002 in Rockville, MD. Her next job was as a marketing consultant with Post-Newsweek Media, Inc. Pat’s last job in Maryland was as publisher of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, where she managed eight print and online peer-reviewed medical journals.

She then returned to Chapel Hill, where she still had scores of friends, many dating to her years at Family Health International. Among her activities in the second period in Chapel Hill was volunteering at the State Employees Credit Union Family House, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing for patients and their loved ones who travel to UNC Hospitals for care. Pat loved working there. She started as a volunteer in 2008 and remained until 2020. She was on duty every Tuesday from 9-12 at the front desk and also worked many evenings as a host to patients and their guests.

Pat was active and happy through these years and felt good until shortly before August 2020, when she fell ill.

Pat was born on May 21, 1944, to Charles and Helen Egan. She grew up in Lexington, MA, near Boston. She attended local primary and secondary schools in the area and then Lesley College in Cambridge, where she received a bachelor’s in English. She was active in Theta Alpha Theta, an honors society, and the Honors Board and volunteered for community organizations. Then she went to the University of New Hampshire for graduate school.

Pat is survived by a niece in Boston: Laura Egan Baker, who is married to Charles Baker and their three children. Pat’s only sibling was her brother, Charles, who died in 2012. She also leaves behind a host of friends and colleagues who will miss her terribly.

A memorial Mass will be held on Monday, January 25, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. in the St. John Fisher Chapel of St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Please use the following link to livestream the Mass, https://stmchapelhill.org/funerals,

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials in Pat's name to the SECU Family House.

Walker's Funeral Home in Chapel Hill is assisting the family.