Thomas P. McCarthy

Thomas P. McCarthy, 94, of Easthampton, Mass., a war hero who also founded McCarthy’s Restaurant in Stowe, died peacefully March 11, 2015, at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass.

He was born in Northampton Jan. 19, 1921, son of George M. and Rebecca (Godin) McCarthy, and attended Immaculate Conception School in Easthampton, the former St. Michael’s High School in Northampton, and Bucksport (Maine) High School.

During World War II, he was a paratrooper and demolition specialist in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. He received the Bronze Star for bravery and the Purple Heart for wounds received in combat on June 17, 1944, during the initial stages of the invasion of France.

Mr. McCarthy was a self-employed plumber his entire life, working independently with various contractors.

He moved to Stowe in 1946, where he continued working in plumbing and started his second career as a member of the ski patrol and later as a ski instructor at Stowe Mountain Resort. He also founded McCarthy’s Restaurant, which continues to be highly popular.

He returned to the Northampton/Easthampton area of Massachusetts in 2004.

Mr. McCarthy was a member of Dalton LaVallee American Legion Post 224 and the Eugene McCarthy Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3422, both in Easthampton. He was a communicant of the former Immaculate Conception Church in Easthampton, now Our Lady of the Valley Parish.

Survivors include three children, Kristi McCarthy Robertson of Stowe, Patrick “Buck” McCarthy of Wolcott and Susan L. DeSimone and husband Salvatore of Woodbury, Conn.; four grandchildren, Sierra, Devon, Genna and Kira; and one great-grandson, Apollo.

His son G. Thomas McCarthy died in 1986.

A military graveside service will be held at a later date at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam, Mass.

Donations in memory of Thomas P. McCarthy may be made to the American Legion Post 224 Baseball Team, 190 Pleasant St., Easthampton, MA 01027.