Ann Marie McCarthy passed away on 2/24/2023.

Survived by her loving daughter, Sheila McCarthy and Sheila’s husband John Hamilton, and their daughters, Ann Marie’s beloved granddaughters, Monica and Renee Hamilton.

Born in Elizabeth, NJ on 6/6/1937 as Ann Marie Reinhardt

She graduated Battin High School in Elizabeth, NJ in 1955

She was married to Neal McCarthy in 1959

Became a mother to Sheila McCarthy at age 24 in 1961

Education was always an important thing in my mother’s life. Before my parents were married and after, she worked to provide the income for my father to attend college. Later, it took years of balancing being a student with working a job and being a wife and a mother to me, and a daughter to her parents, she completed her college degree at Newark State in 1972 to become a teacher. She continued on to get her master’s in education at Kean College in 1986 and continued to add credits towards a doctorate, accumulating an additional 30 credits.

She taught for over 30 years, settling in at Lincoln School in Rutherford as a 4th grade teacher. She was a fantastic teacher, expecting a lot and giving a lot. Countless students would share with her years after attending her class that she had a profound influence on them. For many children, the impact was less about learning the curriculum, which she taught them well, but more about the fact that she really saw, heard and understood the child. I am so proud of how she approached her career championing for the child and creating an environment for them to grow, thrive, and perhaps heal at a time of difficulty in their lives. One student in particular, Susan Tansey, was inspired to become a teacher because of her experience being mom’s student. Susan maintained contact with mom for all the years to follow, keeping her updated on her career in education. Imagine being that impacted by a teacher you had for just one year when you were a child! And, imagine the ripple effect of all of the children’s lives that my mother touched, and then all the children’s lives that one special student Susan touched, the broadness of an influence you can’t measure.

As a child, I had the benefit of her astute insights into child development. She loved, guided and protected me with a fierce commitment and love that was rare and special. Nothing was more important to her than being the best mother she could be. I am beyond grateful to the wonderful woman who raised me.

She taught by example that life is to be fully lived. Fun, adventure, and new experiences were always more important than accumulating fancy things. We lived in a small apartment when I was a kid. Two teacher’s salaries were hardly providing an abundance of wealth, but they did well. We took vacations every year and my parents bought a beach house before a regular house, which made sense for us, because teachers have the summers off, and they could provide me with an entire summer at the beach. What an amazing gift to my childhood. They eventually also purchased a modest home in Rutherford as well. My parents also paid for my college education, which I know was a financial sacrifice, but important to both of them to provide me a start in life without the burden of student loans.

No one’s life is all joy and laughter, and my parent’s complicated marriage ended in divorce after 32 years of marriage. That is not an easy situation. I am so proud of the life that she built after such a profound and painful life change. She built an active life, filled with love of family, building a network of deep and meaningful friendships, and traveling the world. Shortly after the divorce she embarked on an American/Russian teacher exchange program which was a big deal at that time because the Soviet Union had just collapsed. She went and lived with a Russian family for 3 weeks and taught in their schools, and later that year, her host Tatiana, came to live with mom and experienced American schools and culture. It was brave and adventuresome, and life changing. She loved traveling and went almost everywhere….which included a lifelong dream of seeing, with tears in her eyes, the Egyptian pyramids and their magnificence, and an African safari that was so moving to her to be dangerously, but fantastically, close to a wild lion and her cub. We often joked, if you want to know where she has been, it is easier to ask her where she hasn’t been.

At 85, she wasn’t traveling the world on as big a scale anymore, but was constantly on the go with multiple clubs and charities. She made friends easily and so many people in her social circle have made a point of sharing with me that mom was a special lady and they loved her spirit and love of life. Thank you for that. Mom had a saying, “we’re making memories” when we were having fun or having some kind of adventure. I would love to hear from you if you have a special memory or experience with mom that you would like to share. Please reach out to me.

She loved people, it seemed where ever she went, she made quick friends with the folks around her. She used to travel by train to visit us in Massachusetts and almost without fail, we would then hear about the lovely stranger that she talked with on the train and all the interesting things she learned about this person. People opened up to her, but I am confident she started the conversation.

The life lessons my mother taught me have shaped me. I am told that I am a lot like my mother and I am grateful to hear that. I believe the best way that we can honor someone who has passed, is when we catch ourselves being like them in some way, and it makes us smile. I hope you catch yourself being a little like Ann Marie, and it makes you smile. Laughing and joking, saying yes to an adventure, connecting with a stranger, championing the best interest of a child, loving friends and family with all your heart, living life fully, that is Ann Marie.