Mary Elizabeth Zercher Mccarthy

Mary Elizabeth Zercher McCarthy (1929-2016)

Liz McCarthy, 87, beloved mother and grandmother, died at Homestead Assisted Living on Monday, July 11, ending a full life marked by deep loss and immense joy. A woman of contrasts, she could shoot a gun, catch a bass, sing an aria, recite Wordsworth, and teach a child to read. She was a practicing Catholic and an ardent feminist, a champion of equal rights for women. Nurturing and giving, an exemplar of maternal love, she charmed strangers with her winning smile, bountiful energy, and open heart. Adopted at birth on April 30, 1929, by Theodore Zercher and Catherine Conklin, after the death of their only son, Liz was a cherished child who lived most of her life in the Potwin house her father built. Her mother died when she was eight, a loss that bonded her to her devoted and charismatic father. Equal parts businessman, outdoorsman, and artist, Theo Zercher raised Liz with the help of the Hewitt family, and she forever considered him her true father. An idyllic childhood followed, with hours spent hunting, fishing, singing, reading, and riding, and a lifelong friendship with her BFF, Wilma Kuhn Chaffin. A favorite memory was racing her polo pony Birdie in the 1940s along the railroad tracks behind her home as trains took young men off to war. Liz had an exquisite soprano voice and studied both piano and voice for many years with Agnes Simpson. She graduated from Hayden High School in 1947 and then earned her degree in English from Washburn University in 1951. A natural storyteller who earned numerous awards in her youth for creative writing, she captivated listeners with tales from her Depression-era childhood and raised her children and grandchildren to love words and literature. In the '60s she was an active coordinator of the Junior Great Books program in many Topeka schools. She served as the sole coach to her daughter, Peg, who won the National Spelling Bee in 1978. A thunderbolt struck in 1946 when she was cast in the Hayden High School musical, The Sunbonnet Girl, opposite young baritone Jerry McCarthy. Liz, bright and vivacious, perfectly complemented quiet, reserved Jerry, and they fell deeply in love. They married in 1952 in a wedding feted with a full-page spread in the newspaper, with Liz resplendent in Florentine lace brought back from a trip to Europe. They lived for two years at an Air Force base, and the letters Liz sent her family during this time tell a touching story of a young couple growing up and building a life together despite the challenges of military service. Returning to Topeka in 1954, Jerry assumed the presidency and ownership of Theo Zercher's photo-finishing business, Zercher Photo, following Theo's premature death in 1956. They raised five children in a joyful home filled with books, music, and laughter. She loved him passionately until the day he died, and she nursed him at home through his illness with cancer until his death in 1987. A widow at 58, she bravely tackled the new challenges of managing her home and finances on her own, and she lived independently there until this year. She would spend the final decades of her life serving as a devoted and tireless second mother to her seven grandchildren. Liz adored children and had an instinctive gift for nurturing their talents. She was frequently spotted bustling around town with the verve of someone decades younger and zipping too quickly around the Potwin circles in her Toyota. She proudly celebrated her grandchildren's musical talents, faithfully shepherding them to lessons and attending innumerable recitals, concerts, and musicals. A lifetime member of Holy Name parish, she volunteered in the classroom of dear friend Sr. Madonna Stehno at Holy Name School for many years. A true bleeding-heart liberal and FDR Democrat, she rejoiced at the election of our first black president and in her glee was known to fist-bump startled African-Americans. She loved terriers and field dogs, horses, KU basketball, clam dip, Romantic poetry, and classical music, and could still sing hymns beautifully to the end of her life. It is no surprise that in her final months she journeyed back in time to her youth, asking for Theo Zercher, her devoted father. We have no doubt he and Jerry met her at the pearly gates. She is survived by her five children, Ted, Aileen, Mary, Peg, and Megan McCarthy; her sons-in-law, Scott Teeter and Brad Marples; and her much beloved grandchildren, Ian and Kirsten Marples, John and Abby Meyer, and the Teeter boys, Sam, Joe, and Tom. Also surviving is honorary brother, John Hewitt, and many nieces and nephews. The family would like to thank care providers of Homestead, Midland Adult Day program, Advantaged HomeCare, and Grace Hospice for their loving attention to our mother. Donations in her name can be made to the Topeka Rescue Mission. A celebration of life will take place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 14, at The Dillon House, 404 SW 9th St., Topeka. A memorial mass will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, July 15, at Holy Name Church, 1114 SW 10th Ave., Topeka. Private graveside services will be held.