Ardyth Johnson McCarrick

McCarrick, Ardyth             Ardyth Johnson McCarrick, 87, of Brownstown Township, MI, formerly of Owosso, MI, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 22, 2014, in Riverview, MI. Ardie, as she was known to friends and family, was born November 15, 1926, in Wyoming, MI, to Stanley and Vera (Smith) Johnson. After graduating Wyoming High School in 1944, Ardie began work as a secretary for advertising and insurance agencies in Grand Rapids, MI. From 1969 to 1978, she was the secretary to a team of psychologists for the Shiawassee County Intermediate School District in Owosso, MI. Later, she took over the office management of McCarrick Insurance Agency in Corunna, MI., where she worked until her 1986 retirement.                 When asked, Ardie would tell people her greatest achievement in life was her children. Along with her beloved husband of 49 years, Harold C. “Mac” McCarrick, she made sure their children learned the value of hard work, determination, and the importance of education.  Ardie taught her children by example and loved them unconditionally. Since she never had the chance to realize her dream of going to college to be an English teacher, she made sure her children did.  She proudly watched them graduate with masters and doctorate degrees and become successful in the fields of banking, engineering, and higher education.  She frequently said her favorite time of life had been when her children were growing up and coming home from college, but as they left home, she was never more than a phone call or plane ride away to give sage advice or aid in the care of a new baby or ailing loved one. She continually put her family first, facing the struggles and challenges of life with grit, grace, and a faith that was often tested but never lost.             Ardie and Mac had a long, happy retirement, enjoying winters on the beaches of Venice, FL, and summers in their cabin on the Upper Peninsula’s Indian Lake. Later, they moved back to the Grand Rapids area and then to Fuquay-Varina, NC, to be closer to family. The door was always opened to friends and family, and those who visited usually found Ardie bustling about the house while humming a tune, hard at work on a crossword puzzle book, or with her nose lost in yet another novel as she sipped a glass of sherry. Those who loved her enjoyed her ability to debate the issues of the day, commiserate over life’s conundrums, or just share good conversation over a dish of ice cream with chocolate sauce.             Ardie was preceded in death by husband Harold C. McCarrick in 2013, and earlier by her parents, two siblings, her first husband Neland E. Dupay, and an infant son. She is survived by sons Dan (Cheryl) Dupay of Brownstown Township, MI, and Steve (Susan) Dupay of Holland, MI, daughter Dr. Mary Lynn McCarrick (Susan Goldfarb) of Boynton Beach, FL, stepdaughters Karen (Robert) Reid, of Fuquay-Varina, NC, Carol (Daryl) Bartos of Muskegon, MI, stepson Don (Betsy) McCarrick of Fuquay-Varina, NC; 9 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, and brother Dr. Stanley Johnson of Los Gatos, CA.     Services will be held Friday, June 27, at Matthysse-Kuiper-DeGraaf Funeral Home, 4145 Chicago Drive SW, Grandville, MI. Private family viewing will begin at 12:45pm, with general visitation at 1pm, followed by a chapel service at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Alzheimer’s disease research at the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org.)