Larry Arnold McCarthy of Raleigh, NC 
January 19, 1939 - June 4, 2025

Larry Arnold McCarthy, 86, died on June 4, 2025, at UNC Rex Hospital in Raleigh surrounded by his family. Larry was born on January 19, 1939, in Clayton, NC. He was the youngest of 11 children born to George William “Pop” McCarthy and Mary Ucille Bouknight “Mama Sue” McCarthy and the last of the 11 to pass away. He was a profoundly kind soul who was dedicated to his family and friends and who will be dearly missed.

As was common with large families back then, the older children in Larry’s family served as extra parents and helped raise the younger ones. As the baby, he was particularly well loved and looked after by his siblings. The McCarthys at various times lived in South Carolina; Robeson County, NC; Clinton, NC; Clayton; and Jacksonville, NC, as their father pursued work as a printer. 

Music was an important part of family life. Mama Sue would play piano and the children would sing, often to songs derived from poems that Pop had written. The love of music stayed with those 11 children and was passed on to the next generation of the McCarthy family, which can boast of several beautiful voices and skilled players.

Larry had many loves, including a pickin’ circle, his screened-in back porch, a pint of Guinness Extra Stout and NC State sports. Chief among those loves was his wife of 53 years, Nancy “Dink” Harrelson McCarthy. Larry and Nancy loved to have dinner with friends, roam the hidden hills of Ireland, spoil their grandchildren and their nieces and nephews, and watch Wolfpack basketball from their season ticket seats at Reynolds Coliseum.
He enjoyed a good meal and always had a hearty appetite. 

Two of Larry and Nancy’s favorite local restaurants in Raleigh were Casa Carbone at Oak Park Shopping Center (where Nancy knew the family) and the late, great Crowley’s Old Favorites on Medlin Drive. One night, when the owner of Crowley’s told the house band that he would no longer offer live music, Larry’s friend Mark Perry told them “come to my house and play.” So began Larry’s regular pickin’ circle, where, armed with his Martin guitar, he and a host of friends met to play for a decade.

Larry retired from University Graphics, the on-campus printshop at NC State where he and Nancy met. In retirement, he continued trips to Ireland with Nancy; football games and tailgates with his stepson, Ben Tippett; and the pickin’ circle. When he could no longer do those things, Larry dedicated himself to caring for Nancy, allowing her to continue living at home until earlier this year. He was a U.S Army veteran and an organ donor whose generosity is benefiting people he never had a chance to meet.

Larry is survived by wife, Nancy, of Brighton Gardens of Raleigh; stepson, Ben Tippett, of Cary; two grandchildren, Morgan and Brandon Tippett of Cary; a sister-in-law, Jo Adams and husband, Don, of Cary; close family and caregivers, Danise and Billy Hobson, of Cary and a small army of beloved nieces and nephews.

Source of Obituary: Montlawn Memorial Park, Raleigh