Bruce Elliott McCarthy

Bruce Elliott McCarthy, 89, loving father and grandfather died peacefully on September 24 2022. Bruce was born on May 7 1933 near Rochester New York, the son of the late Henry McCarthy and Ona Stinson McCarthy. He is survived by his daughters Ona and Leila, grandchildren Miles and Rhojene, niece Colleen and wife Mariette.

Bruce had a great interest in history and devoted the majority of his professional life to public service in the federal government. He graduated from Syracuse University in 1954 with a degree in history. He joined the Air Force and was stationed in Japan in 1955-58. Bruce returned to Syracuse University, awarded a Masters in Public Administration in 1959.

Bruce came to Washington D.C. in 1959, working at the Federal Housing and Home Finance Agency and as a staff member on Capitol Hill. In 1967-68 he served in Saigon with the Agency for International Development. In the early ‘70s Bruce managed a chain of weekly newspapers in Northeastern Pennsylvania. He returned to D.C. in 1976 as Associate Deputy Assistant to the Secretary for Public Affairs, later becoming the Department of Housing and Urban Development liaison with FEMA. Bruce retired from the federal government in 2005 with 38 years of service. He retired from the Air Force Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel. He was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his work as commander of the team that processed the “Project Blue Book'' UFO sighting reports in 1976. 

A rugby enthusiast, Bruce was an early member of the Club Sudamericano de Rugby. He loved his community in Alexandria and volunteered his time avidly to various events and committees. Bruce had a number of hobbies- he owned a 1936 Packard and played tennis up to age 88. He will be remembered fondly for his caring disposition, wit, idiosyncratic sense of humor and fashion sense. 

A service in celebration of Bruce will be held at Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home, Alexandria, 3pm, Saturday, October 1st 2022. Interment will be at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Carpenter’s Shelter https://carpentersshelter.org/give/.

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