Jane McCarthy

Jane Catherine McCarthy, pictured here with her husband, John, of 57 years, passed away at her home Tuesday, 3 May 2016. Their love and deep respect for each other endured throughout their lives. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 20 February 1929, she was the daughter of Daniel and Jane (Convery) Otterson who immigrated to the United States from Longfield, Northern Ireland.

Jane graduated from West Catholic Preparatory High School, Philadelphia, in 1947. She worked for Bell Telephone before becoming a secretary for the Philadelphia Police department in City Hall, Center City, Philadelphia. She was the proud wife of her husband, John, a retired U.S. Navy veteran of twenty-one years, and together they raised a family of six children during his various military assignments across the eastern United States. She masterfully maintained family stability throughout eleven reassignments and relocations including a most notable time in our history when John was stationed in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Jane supported John academically as he earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Education and Special Education. They approached academia as a team effort similar to any challenge or opportunity presented.

Jane was a devout Roman Catholic and participated in the Nocturnal Adoration Society at Corpus Christi Catholic Church for decades. She embraced her Irish heritage wholeheartedly and passed this appreciation for Irish culture onto her children and grandchildren. Jane especially enjoyed Irish music, singing Irish songs, Irish set dancing and ceili dancing at hoolies. Jane also enjoyed crocheting, sewing, woodworking and completing complex logic puzzles.

Jane is preceded in death by her husband John whom she married in 1956 and their son Sean Christopher. She is also preceded in death by her parents Daniel and Jane (Convery) Otterson, her siblings Daniel, Harry and Alice and a granddaughter, Jennifer. Jane is survived by her siblings Patrick and Sr. Jane Marie, sons Brian McCarthy (wife Particia) Baltimore; Daniel McCarthy, Harrisburg; daughters Rosanna McCarthy, Sylva, North Carolina; Bernadine McKenna (husband Brian) Bethlehem and Catherine McCarthy, Chambersburg. Jane has several grandchildren and several great grandchildren.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Rev. Fr. Paul J. Thiesz at Noon on Saturday, May 7, 2016 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 320 Philadelphia Avenue, Chambersburg, PA. Interment will follow at Corpus Christi Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00-7:00 PM Friday at Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 333 Falling Spring Road, Chambersburg, PA.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jane’s name to the Sean C. McCarthy Memorial Scholarship Fund at Shippensburg University 500 Newburg Road, Shippensburg, PA 17257 or The Saint Vincent DePaul Society 320 Philadelphia Avenue, Chambersburg, PA 17201.