DANIEL MCCARTHY obituary

ANACONDA Dan

McCarthy, 49, died surrounded

by his family Thursday, June 8,

2006, in Fort Wayne, Ind., following

a short illness.

Cremation has taken place.

Rosary will be held at 6 p.m.

Wednesday at Longfellow

Finnegan Funeral Home in

Anaconda. A funeral service will

be held at St. Peter's Catholic

Church in Anaconda on Thursday

at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow

at Mount Olivet Cemetery,

followed by a luncheon at Holy

Family Catholic Church.

Dan was born on Sept. 18,

1956, to Robert P. and Marilyn

McCarthy, the first of

seven boys. Raised in

Anaconda, Dan was a

proud and vocal lifelong

Democrat known for his persuasion

and disarming wit.

Dan attended St. Paul's

Catholic Grade School, where he

was a proud member of several

St. Paul Maroon Championship

teams, Anaconda Central High

School until its closure, and then

later Anaconda High School. Dan

was a Boys State delegate, and

remained active in Boys State

throughout college and law

school. Dan went on to attend

Carroll College, studying political

science and minoring in economics.

Dan graduated from

Carroll College in 1978, and went

on to study law at the University

of Montana, graduating in 1981.

Dan was proud to have been

elected the first student body

president of the consolidated

AHS/Anaconda Central student

body, as well as a class officer of

every class from grade school

through law school. Dan was

voted Most Likely to Succeed in

High School, Carroll College, and

UM Law School.

Dan was well known for his

public speaking skills, and was a

natural storyteller. He was very

active in local politics, and put

himself through law school by

working as a bartender, working

at Lydia's, the Copper Club and

Barkley's in Anaconda and The

Flame in Missoula. Dan took

great pride in his hard work, and

he always had a kind ear and a

soft word for all who sat across

his bar. He was held in the highest

regard by his employers, and

valued lifelong friendships that

developed with his employers. He

was an avid conservationist, and

enjoyed fly-fishing in the Big

Hole Valley and Warm Springs

Creek.

Dan was also proud of serving

as an intern at Garlington, Lohn,

& Robinson Law Firm in

Missoula throughout his law

school years. Following graduation,

he moved back to his

beloved Anaconda to help with

his many younger brothers. Dan

was a constant confidant to his

brothers; a source of kind advice

and an example of a life lived

with integrity and honesty. Dan's

moralistic values were shaped

and influenced by his very close

relationship with his maternal

grandmother, Mary Ferguson.

Dan practiced law in

Anaconda and Butte at the firm

of Johnson, Skakles, & Kebe,

with a practice focused on criminal

defense and social justice

issues. He was proud to offer his

services to those who could not

otherwise hire an attorney.

There is little doubt that had Dan

charged his friends and family

for legal services, he would have

long since been retired.

Dan's heroes were those who

took courageous stands on behalf

of their beliefs and those who

were willing to challenge others

to do good work and to live honorably.

He counted the Kennedys

among his heroes, and thought of

himself as a political idealist

firmly embracing social justice

and pure Democratic ideals

helping the weak, defending the

wrongfully accused, and working

for a social equity that would

serve his younger brothers and

numerous nieces and nephews in

the future. Dan's strongest influence

was right and wrong, and

he never failed to stress the

importance of working for right

to his brothers.

After leaving Anaconda, Dan

was involved in several different

business ventures with his brothers,

including working in Great

Falls at Woody's Auto Sales, and

working in Havre at North Star

Dodge. Dan's immense potential

and early success was hampered

by the disease of alcoholism,

which eventually led to his death.

Dan's memory will not be dulled

by this fact. In fact, Dan would

point at himself as an example to

others of how much can be so

quickly lost.

After leaving the practice of

law, Dan continued his academic

and professorial pursuits. Dan's

study of politics, history and public

policy never ended, and Dan's

intellect rarely failed to impress

those who met him. Dan

deserved his nickname of

“Webster.”

Dan was preceded in death by

his grandparents, Mary and

Joseph Ferguson and Pat and

Madge McCarthy; uncles,

Bernard McCarthy and Jerry

Ferguson; and aunts, Sue

Menicucci Kilmer and Colleen

Fadness.

Survivors include his best

friend, John Lay; father, Bob

(Suzy) McCarthy of Stockett;

mother, Marilyn McCarthy of

Anaconda; brothers, Kevin of

Missoula, Brian of Havre, Craig

of Big Timber, James of Butte,

Bob of Butte, Mark of Great

Falls; uncles and aunts, Carol

and Tom Fulton, Bernice

Ferguson, Mike McCarthy, Mel

Fadness and Pat McCarthy; and

numerous cousins, nieces,

nephews and sisters-in-law.

In lieu of flowers, send memorials

to the Hearst Free Library

in Anaconda