Elaine Angela O’Brien McCarthy passed away at age 92 in Atlantic Highlands. Mrs. McCarthy was a long time resident of Middletown and Atlantic Highlands and loved its history and natural beauty.
Born in New York, a graduate of Hunter College with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature, she was a pioneering copy writer for J. Walter Thompson and an editor with the New York Herald Tribune. For many years she served as a proofreader and copy editor for The Two River Times.
A self-taught artist, she often experimented with new techniques and her original fabric sculptures featured as the backdrop for Tiffany’s Christmas windows.
An avid reader, she enjoyed few things more than a trip to the Middletown Public Library. A homeowner on Kings Highway East, Mrs. McCar thy studied the Colonial Era history of New Jersey and delighted in envisioning the momentous events that took place along that route during the American Revolution. She loved Middletown’s Deep Cut Gardens and contributed handiworks and sculptures to Deep Cut and Tatum Park activity centers’ craft show and shop.
Her own beloved garden was a haven for birds – and for a family of very fat and happy feral cats – all of whom she had captured, spayed, neutered and fed well enough so the birds visiting the feeders were entirely safe.
Elaine McCarthy is survived by her daughters, Mary Ellen McCarthy and Marguerite Waye; son-in-law Jerome Waye; and grandson, Christopher Waye.
Funeral Mass was held April 28 at Holy Cross Church, Rumson, with burial following at Mary Rest Cemetery, Mahwah.
