Obituary of Rose Marie McCarthy

Rose Marie McCarthy, 92, of Sterling, Virginia, since 2013, formerly of Richmond, Virginia, passed away on Tuesday, December 29, 2015, at the Adler Center for Caring in Aldie, Virginia. Born on April 23, 1923, in Jersey City, New Jersey, Rose is the daughter of the late Beatrice M. Gilvey and the late John F. Gilvey. She was preceded in death by her siblings the late John Gilvey, William Gilvey, Bobby Gilvey and Betty Rott. Rose is survived by her husband Lt. Col. George F. McCarthy, USAF Ret. to whom she was married for 67 years. Rose is also survived by her five children George McCarthy, Jr. (wife Jane) of Montgomery, Alabama; Daniel McCarthy (wife Lynda) and Mary Jane LeHew (husband Steven) of Sterling, Virginia; Maureen McCarthy Noe (husband Chip) of MIdlothian, Virginia; and Michael McCarthy (wife Cindy) of Palmer, Alaska; her nine grandchildren Christopher McCarthy, Jonathan McCarthy, Megan McCarthy, Danielle Gladis, Jennifer Blair, Lauren Carr, Steven LeHew, Kelly Rose McCarthy and Kevin McCarthy; and her six great grandchildren Greyson McCarthy, Cooper Hedrick, Wyatt and Wesley Blair, Gwyneth Carr and Kacie LeHew. The family will receive friends from 5 PM until 7 PM on Tuesday , January 12, 2016, at Adams Green Funeral Home, in Herndon, Virginia. A Funeral Mass service will be held at 11 AM on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Herndon, Virginia. Burial will take place at Arlington National Cemetery in the Spring of 2016. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you please consider a memorial donation specifically to Adler Center for Caring, Capital Caring at Aldie, Virginia. Address: 24419 Millstream Drive, Aldie, Virginia 20105. Website: capitalcaring.org GETTING TO KNOW ROSE MARIE MCCARTHY Rose Marie Gilvey born on April 23, 1923, in Jersey City, New Jersey, married her beloved husband George Francis McCarthy on Sunday, June 20, 1948, at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in Jersey City, New Jersey where she became Rose Marie McCarthy. Rose and George were married for 67 years and had five children--three sons and two daughters; (from oldest to youngest)...George, McCarthy Jr. (wife Jane), Daniel McCarthy (wife Lynda), Mary Jane LeHew (husband Steve), Maureen McCarthy Noe (husband Chip), Michael McCarthy (wife Cindy). Rose had nine grandchildren and six great grandchildren; (born of oldest child to youngest)...Christopher McCarthy and Jonathan McCarthy (wife Amy, daughter Greyson); Megan McCarthy (husband Chuck Hedrick and son Cooper); Danielle Gladis (husband Luke); Jennifer Blair (husband Sean and sons Wyatt and Wesley); Lauren Carr (husband Nick and daughter Gwyneth); Steven LeHew (wife Karen and daughter Kacie); Kelly Rose McCarthy and Kevin McCarthy. Rose was third of the five children born to her parents Beatrice and John Gilvey. Her oldest brother was John "Johnny" Gilvey then William "Billy" Gilvey; her younger sister, Betty Rott, and finally her youngest brother, Robert "Bobby" Gilvey. Rose graduated from Dickenson High School in New Jersey and was an active track member medaling for her team as a sprinter. She attended Drake Secretarial School after graduation from high school. She worked as a Purchasing Agent for Western Electric under Harry Ervine prior to marrying George. She was selected to work on the Signal Corps Team at Western Electric to work closely with the military to ensure forces were supplied with machinery, tools and the like. She was a devoted wife and mother who had the privilege to enjoy and support her husband's 32-year career in the Air Force. Rose enjoyed living in and visiting a variety of places in the United States and in Europe; two of her favorite places were Wiesbaden, Germany, and Kyushu, Japan. In Japan is where she took a liking to the game of golf. Though the time she spent playing golf was limited, her ability was good enough where she could play the game and enjoy it! Her family was her absolute focus and purpose in life and is where her devotion was. She loved family gatherings during the summer months, whether it was beachside or lakeside Rose made sure food and fun was a guarantee for all. Thanksgiving and Christmas were favorite holidays..it was a time for her to experiment with and share new recipes with her family and friends. Baking was one of her favorite hobbies and if it included chocolate, it was even better! As one of her family members expressed recently..."She never met a pastry she didn't like!" Cookies, cakes or pies were always available for snacking, and when someone was meeting Rose for the first time, it was usually a requirement they tasted one of her treats...she insisted all guests were well satisfied! Rose loved an approaching birthday or celebration so she could bake a unique and creative cake! She was a master at icing and decorating, and on many occasions never held back on the creative aspect! There was no better coffee cake than Rose's...and it was a staple in her home when anyone came to visit. Needless to say, a predominant, lifetime topic of conversation centered around all the pounds we gained and how many we certainly needed to shed. There was usually an ongoing discussion among family and friends regarding the next diet dujour, and the winning plan was the one that always left room for an ample satisfying desert! Rose enjoyed designing, baking and constructing elaborate gingerbread houses for the annual Christmas bazaars at St. Anne's Catholic Church in Colonial Heights, Virginia, and baking for the homeless at Freedom House while living in Richmond, Virginia. Rose made her special brownies and George made the meatloaves. George her husband, without fail, would routinely ask for Rose's input and help when crafting wooden folk art projects for the Little Sisters of the Poor Christmas fund raising sale each year in Richmond, Virginia. With many of the projects, Rose would utilize her floral arranging talents to decorate beautiful sleighs, wreaths or anything that was in need of her special creative touch! She enjoyed working on projects that allowed room for creative license and design. She was always open to learning new skills from friends or family. Working with stained glass to create stepping stones to designing and cutting mosaic tiles for table tops were a couple of her favorites. She created two beautiful stained glass stepping stones (one of which depicted St. Francis of Assisi) for St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church's outdoor meditation garden in Richmond, Virginia, where they remain today, and many more for her children's families to enjoy in their gardens and homes. To compliment Rose's knack for design and decorating was her ability to mix colors and textures. She once dabbled with acrylic paints when she tried to replicate an original floral oil painting, and no surprise to us, she was pretty good at it! That was the only painting she ever attempted. Her home was also her canvas. You could be assured that approximately every five years when Rose began to mention the need for a new sofa or chair, a redecorating event was fast approaching! She was an outstanding seamstress who made most of her home window treatments, her special occasion clothing, Halloween costumes and even clothing for her children. Rose was never afraid to take on challenging sewing projects! Rose loved a good bargain and was usually ready for a spontaneous outing! Whether she was shopping with dad, friends or her family, she always managed to find that "good deal." It gave her sheer joy not only to gift those finds, but to share the story behind how she came upon them and most importantly how much money she was able to save! A large order of french fries and a diet coke or frosty were usually the perfect reward for each successful hunt! We can certainly thank mom for her amazing budgeting skills! She enjoyed a great sense of humor and was quick witted herself. Rose was always up for a good prank and enjoyed shocking her grandchildren with unexpected and spontaneous funnies. She adored her grandchildren and they had a blast with her. Some of which included minding two of her granddaughters while their parents shopped then quickly staging a gambling scene with empty beer bottles, cards, change and their feet all up on the kitchen table as they slurred their parents welcome when they walked through the door.... or giving a quick flip of her skirt from behind to her children and grandchildren as they pulled out of the driveway to return home. Later Rose was surprised to learn her grandson had written an essay for his English teacher about how his grandmother "mooned" them when leaving from a visit. I am sure her grandchildren could share some real doozies! In her later years, she and her husband George were inseparable. They went everywhere together and did everything together. She did a fabulous job taking care of George as his dementia progressed, up until her very own dementia had taken over and she needed the assistance and care herself. She was a very independent, strong-willed individual that knew what she wanted and stood by her decisions. She will be missed, remembered and loved by her family and friends forever.