Jay Leonard McCarty, Junior (1945 – 2023)

Jay Leonard McCarty, Junior has died. Jay was born in Borger, Texas, and grew up in Lubbock. He was one of four children of Jay Leonard McCarty, Senior (who was from Texas originally) and Thelma (Hopper) McCarty (who was from Arkansas). Jay Jr.'s extraordinary athletic skills on the football field earned him the adoration of Lubbock sports fans, and he was well remembered when visiting Texas decades later. As a young man Jay Jr. attended Texas Tech and San Angelo State College. He later moved to Memphis, TN. There he met Jacqueline Shroat at a party, and fell in love at first sight.

In 1970, Jay and Lyn married, and together made a family with "the big kids" - her children Lance, Laura, and Chris from her first marriage. Like his father before him, Jay Jr. served in the United States military during war time. Jay Sr. was US Marine Corps in World War II. Jay Jr. enlisted and served on active duty in the Marine Corps for six years (1965-1971), including as a mechanic for helicopters Vietnam War. Youngest child Celeste was born into the family in 1971 in Memphis. Shortly thereafter the family moved to Brandon, Florida. Jay Jr. served in the Army State National Guard in Florida for 10 years (1975-1985), including being called into the Miami riots. Earlier in their lives together, Jay and Lyn were active in a Unitarian Universalist congregation in Florida.

After the older children left home, Jay, Lyn and Celeste moved back to Tennessee, making the Memphis Raleigh neighborhood home in 1987. Jay continued working as a mechanic for a wide range of vehicle types in the next decades. In the final working assignment of his career, he traveled the long distance from Memphis to Biloxi, Mississippi each month, working on boats supplying the oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. He was a jokester among his crewmates, and was brought face to face with the far reaching impacts of avoidable oil spills. He enjoyed visiting the Senior Center where Lyn was worked, especially playing pool.

Jay was a talented draftsman, and in an alternate life would have been an architect. He loved the music of country music greats like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. He was a reader of a wide range of books, a devoted Southern Liberal, a heavy consumer of newspapers, and a coffee aficionado. Road trips were a source of great enjoyment to him: from his 1964 nationwide adventure with his friend Mike, to a family trip to Mount Lemmon in Arizona, to fulfilling Lyn's interest in visiting Civil War sites. He shared his love of driving and cars, teaching his daughter to drive in a huge heavy car, saying pretend there's a dozen eggs in the back, and a hot cup of coffee on the dash. He had an irreverent sense of humor, once hypothesizing that on his gravestone he could imagine "That's it?" being inscribed.

He will be remembered especially for his Lubbock drawl, his infectious smile, and his hearty laugh.

The final chapter of his life was devoted to care of his wife Lyn, and mourning her loss after she passed away in 2018 after 48 years of marriage. The family feels deep appreciation to his neighbors and friends who were kind to him during this time.

Jay's remains are being interred alongside Lyn's remains, in the Murray Kentucky City Cemetery. Murray was Lyn's hometown, and she and Jay felt connected to Murray throughout their lives.

Anyone wishing to do so could consider donating to an animal shelter, Jay's little dog Bogey was a great comfort to him.