Terry McCarty

Terry McIntyre McCarty

7/16/1940-11/19/2024

Terry M. McCarty left his mortal coil on November 19, 2024 in Boulder, Colorado, after suffering a sudden cardiac event. He was 84 years old.

"The Ter-Bear" was born in Los Angeles, California, and grew up in Whittier, California. He attended California High School, where he lettered in football and track and field. He was a record-setting shotputter for his high school and attended Whittier College on a football scholarship. It was at Whittier College that he courted Peggy Chatfield, who was then working as a waitress at Nixon's restaurant (yes-of that Nixon clan!). She would fix the cuff of his letterman's jacket, and they would marry on 6 September 1964.

Terry earned his Master's degree in Psychology from Cal State Fullerton, and spent his professional career as a teacher and a school psychologist. Terry was known for his kindness, his generous spirit, and his keen ability to communicate with even the most troubled souls.

Terry was an avid natural scientist who loved the Apollo space program, Carl Sagan, and camping. His many adventures with his beloved "Pegs" took him many places-together, they built a home and a family in Whittier, California, later moving to Mission Viejo, where they created and ran Pathfinder High School of Independent Study. They lived in Poipu Beach, Kauai for 8 years. Later, they bought a trailer and toured all over the lower 48.

Terry loved history and was a gifted writer. He is the co-author (with Peggy) of The Chatfield Story-Civil War Letters and Diaries of Private Edward L Chatfield, an annotated history of a treasure trove of heirloom civil war era letters passed down through Peggy's family. These letters are now a permanent part of the historical collection at the Huntington Library in California.

Terry was a natural optimist who loved a smile and a good "Dad Joke". He adored his children and his grandchildren (who call him "Boppa"), and he loved to tinker and fix and upgrade and improve things of all sorts in his garage. He taught his kids and his grandkids how to drive a stick-shift. He built a double geodesic dome over his pool with nothing but a chop-saw and a Buckminster Fuller postcard. He made a treehouse for his kids out of the leftover lumber.

Terry was preceded in death by his grandson, Matthew Mori, his daughter, Kimberly Ellen McCarty Mori, and his brother, Thomas L. McCarty. He is survived by his wife, Margaret "Peg" McCarty, his son, David Edward McCarty, his daughter-in-law Emma Fortney McCarty, his son-in-law Marc Mori, and his four grandchildren: Jacqueline McCarty, Iola McCarty, Marek Mori, and Sabrina Mori.

An informal viewing will be hosted at Greenwood and Myers Mortuary in Boulder, Colorado, on Friday November 29 from 11-1pm, and his remains will be interred at Littleton Cemetery, in the Chatfield family plot. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Active Minds, a nonprofit student-run suicide prevention program.