Remembering Chris McCarthy |
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A trip to Nepal in 2001 In 1971, a young Chris McCarthy left his hometown, Morristown, New Jersey, and
Well, the answer is B. (There is also the story about him flying to L.A. for his college admissions interview, landing at LAX, deciding that it was a reasonable walk from the airport to the college, and walking the 25 miles to the campus at Franklin and Western!) This energetic and adventurous young man was among the newly-admitted male students at the re-structured, formerly all-female Immaculate Heart College. He was no doubt attracted to the description of a small, liberal arts college, “catholic with a small c” in the heart of Hollywood. The sisters (nuns) who ran the college had left the Church in protest of certain Roman Catholic doctrines, and the college was highly experimental and independent. He arrived at campus, and immediately connected to the Immaculate Heart creative crowd: the art majors, the musicians, the literature buffs. Chris was especially interested in music, having played in a band during high school. His attention was focused on music, fun and literature, all interests that Immaculate Heart students were given to pursuing. Fast forward to 1992: the Chris that most of us knew was already a serious academic with a very light, yet very caring, side. He came to Glendale College after a productive and popular career at Los Angeles Harbor College, and spent nearly a decade here with us.
Those who knew him cannot really grasp
that he is gone. His fun-loving spirit, passion for educating our
students, his dedication to our college—all of these remain with us
as we remember him. I, like many of you who knew him, am devastated and heartbroken at the loss of my friend, Chris McCarthy. Chris and I were high school classmates back 40 years ago in Morristown, New Jersey. He was directly responsible for my becoming a community college instructor at a time when I was floundering and trying to find a way to survive in the world. It is no exaggeration to say that not only did Chris change my life, but in a way saved it. He was loyal to his friends, and as a true friend was willing to go to bat for them when they needed it most. I fondly remember visiting California for the first time and staying with Chris while he was a student at Immaculate Heart College and I was attending Oberlin. Not too many of you know, but Chris was a wonderful singer/songwriter, and almost had a record deal when he was in college as part of duo with a college friend of his named Chris McCurry. Though he took the path of rising through the academic ranks, at heart Chris McCarthy was always an artist. He wrote short stories in his spare time, and Chris told me he really wanted to focus on that part of his life once he retired. I think in some ways the measure of person's life is whether or not they leave the world a better place. In Chris' case, there is no doubt that this world is a much, much, better place for his having been here. Sam JosephI always thought of him as "Professor McCarthy"; I had the extreme honor of having him as a professor while attending GCC back in spring of 1999. I was a member of the Scholar's Program, and I was a part of his English 102 course, and had no clue who he was in relation to the GCC community. I still vividly remember a few of his lectures. I had never had a professor up to that point who displayed such a passion for the subject material, and he passed on that passion to me. His encouragement and enthusiasm encouraged me to continue writing; he brought validation to a shy, young student who had no idea whether or not she was good enough to major in English. I'm currently teaching in the classroom where I sat as his student. I had been looking forward to the day I could meet him as a colleague rather than as a student. I just hope he knew the depth of the impact he made on my life. Hollie StewartAdjunct English Professor I want to share two extremely fond memories of Chris: The first occurred while on a trip to Europe in '97. I stopped in Prague unofficially to visit with friends and colleagues Bart Edelman and David White, who were running our summer program there. Chris was in town to visit the program, and he took the time to come over to my hotel (unannounced) and invite me out for a drink. It had been something of a difficult day, and the visit was a real shot-in-the-arm. I never forgot that kind gesture. The second took place on 9/11. I met him in the parking lot as I arrived at school after hearing increasingly shocking and scary news on the car radio. Having just returned from New York, which is my city of origin, and where many of my friends and all my relatives live, I was a mess. Chris helped to keep me glued together until I got to the TV near the bookstore to try to put the pieces of the story together. I grieve for his family and for all those who have been touched by this very special person's life.Richard Seltzer As I read this terrible news, a song we heard together in concert sprang to mind:
Thank you, Chris, for so many things. Forrest Fordyce |
