John McCarthy

With sadness, the family announces that John passed away peacefully at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 9, 2025 at the age of 86.

Dear father of Sean, Peter (Rainuka), Paul (Kristin), the late Mandy (Simon), Ian and Bruce. Proud grandfather of Declan, Devin, Liam, Roan and the late Dylan. Dear brother of Bob and predeceased by brothers Chris and Joe.

Predeceased by the mother of their children Jean McCarthy.

John made the journey to Ottawa in the late sixties, eventually discovering the village of Carp and putting down permanent roots in the community.

 John was and remained very close with his brothers back home in Bootle, England. Even with an ocean between them he made many trips over the years to be with them at their local pub on Friday nights (a weekly tradition for all of them to meet up since their youth). 

John enjoyed swimming, jogging, soccer and tennis to stay fit throughout his life; playing soccer until he was in his 50’s and continuing to embarrass himself on the tennis courts into his 60’s. Long walks to friends' houses and for errands were almost a daily endeavor for him and he also really enjoyed strolls along the Ottawa River until his late 70’s. 

He was an avid Evertonian for over 75+ years, a requirement if he wanted lodging from his father and his brothers wouldn’t have let him support anyone else; nor would he have wanted to. 

John enjoyed the fact that he mostly did work that interested him and made him pleased to get out of bed and get at the next challenge his career offered him. In his retirement, he used his spare time to continue to explore and travel the world. His career afforded him many opportunities to see the world, but when he retired, he did it “his way”. Travelling cheaply and finding a variety of interesting lodging options in all sorts of scenic locales. He would have been hard pressed to pick a favourite city or country, but anywhere that had an affordable bottle of wine and fresh bread for cheese sandwiches; well that guaranteed he would have stayed there for a few weeks.

In keeping with John’s wishes, no formal services are planned.

For those who wish, please consider a memorial donation in John’s memory to the Canadian Cancer Society or the Royal Ottawa Foundation.