John William McCarthy

John William McCarthy, age 87, of Toccoa, Georgia passed away on June 23, 2016.

He was born October 10, 1928, in Weston, Ontario, Canada.  At the age of sixteen, he came south to attend Holmes School of the Bible in South Carolina.  He was also educated at Taylor University, Stetson University and the University of Georgia, from which he received a doctoral degree in education.

He was called to ministry as a youth, served as a pastor in Talledega, Alabama and taught at Toccoa Falls Institute (now College) with his wife, Alma Annette Driscoll McCarthy, before their appointment as missionaries to Ecuador by the Christian & Missionary Alliance.  They served for ten years at the Alliance Academy in Quito, Ecuador.

Returning to the U.S., John served as pastor in Marietta, Georgia and as headmaster at the Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, before being appointed academic dean of Toccoa Falls College in 1979, where he served until his retirement.  After his retirement, he served as prayer chaplain through WRAF and at the college.  While his work at Toccoa Falls College expressed his heart to see young people prepared for ministry, he was best known in the community for being approachable and willing to pray with people in their times of need.

He was preceded in death by his wife Alma and one granddaughter, Monica Faison.  He is survived by his three children: Doris Nuss of Siloam Springs, Arkansas and her husband, George; Dr. David McCarthy of Toccoa, Georgia, and his wife, Lois; and Mary Anne Ford of Apopka, Florida, and her husband, Michael, as well as by eleven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements have been made through Acree-Davis funeral home in Toccoa, Georgia.  The family will receive visitors at Acree-Davis on Sunday, June 26, between 2:00 and 5:00 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the First Alliance Church of Toccoa on Monday, June 27 at 10:00 a.m., followed immediately by a graveside service at the Toccoa Cemetery.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, gifts be made to the CAMA Disaster Relief Fund to help with earthquake relief efforts in Ecuador:  http://camaservices.org/project/cama-disaster-relief-fund/

Acree-Davis Funeral Home in charge of the arrangements for  John William McCarthy.