Elizabeth "Betty" P. McCarthy

Elizabeth Pauline McCarthy (née Pettrow) — known to everyone simply as Betty — passed away peacefully on August 24, 2026, in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 88.

Betty was born on April 7, 1938, the daughter of Peter S. Pettrow and Elizabeth J. Pettrow (née Schwab). She made her entrance into the world in dramatic fashion when the car carrying her mother to the hospital got stuck in a snowstorm in front of Castle Furniture on Hudson Avenue in North Bergen, New Jersey. The story made local news and earned her a lifelong nickname: "Baby Snow White." Castle Furniture never let her forget it, marking her birthday with advertised annual community celebrations lasting up to 3 days. With promises of free portraits, lollipops, and carousel rides, the events sometimes drew crowds of over a thousand people.

It was a fitting beginning for a woman who spent the rest of her life gathering people around her. As a teenager, Betty found her way onto the stage, winning competition awards and earning a scholarship for her acting. She graduated from Cliffside Park Senior High School in New Jersey in January 1957. Her favorite childhood memory was of playing Annie in her high school’s production of Cheaper by the Dozen — a role that planted the seed of a dream she carried for years: a house full of children.

In June 1961, Betty married the love of her life, John J. McCarthy, and the two spent 58 years together before his passing in 2019. Life blessed the couple with only one child, but when their daughter, Linda Jean, arrived, the three of them became — in Linda’s words — a "small but mighty family." Betty poured into Linda every bit of the love she’d once imagined spreading across a dozen children, and Linda loved her back with that same devotion. These two souls, without question, were the defining relationships of Betty’s life.

Betty and John spent 30 years in Tuxedo Park, New York, where Betty threw herself into neighborhood and civic life, especially as she supported John through his years of public service as town councilman and later town supervisor. Their home was a regular gathering spot for wine-and-cheese parties and neighborhood get-togethers, and Betty — a lifelong poll worker — never missed a chance to talk about the importance of showing up to vote. She also built a career as an executive secretary, working for organizations including the American Bankers Association, New York University, and Seiko Corporation of America, and even took a detour into real estate in the 1980s, earning the Orange County Board of Realtors’ Bronze Award for Excellence in Sales along the way.

After retiring to Sarasota in 2003, Betty found a new community at VillageWalk, where she lived for more than 23 years. True to form, she got involved immediately — organizing block parties, volunteering with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and leading the neighborhood’s water aerobics group five days a week for over two decades. True to her grit and commitment to never let anything hold her back, when health challenges kept her out of the pool, she simply moved to the deck and kept right on leading her beloved Water Lilies class from there.

Anyone who knew Betty well knew she loved a few things without apology: cats, above all — she was a devoted "cat grandma" in her later years — along with The Golden Girls, Matlock, a good cry over a Hallmark movie, and a sweet treat at almost any hour of the day, breakfast included. She had a habit of calling family into the room the moment an animal showed up in a TV commercial, and every December she spent weeks hand-making her famous Christmas candy to give away to everyone she loved — because for Betty, that was what Christmas was for.

In her later years, Betty’s family grew to include Linda’s partner, Mike Adkins, whom she adored, put proudly on a pedestal, and simply called "my son."

Betty was predeceased by her beloved husband, John J. McCarthy, and her sister, Marcella M. Bachmann (née Pettrow). She is survived by her daughter, Linda J. McCarthy; Linda’s partner, Michael S. Adkins; her brother, Albert C. Pettrow; and many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday, October 10, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 2506 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota, Florida 34231. A reception will immediately follow in the church hall. Eulogies and tributes will take place at the reception beginning at 12:00 pm. For those unable to attend in person, the Mass and eulogies/tributes will be livestreamed on the St. Thomas More — Sarasota YouTube channel. Interment with her husband at Sarasota National Cemetery will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Elizabeth P. McCarthy to The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement at the Cleveland Clinic, supporting prevention nutrition and lifestyle research at thewomensalzheimersmovement.org/donate.

For those wishing to send a card, condolences may be mailed to The McCarthy Family, 7659 Pesaro Drive, Sarasota, FL 34238.

Betty spent a lifetime showing the people around her what it looks like to show up — for family, for neighbors, for community, for anyone lucky enough to be on her Christmas candy list. She will be deeply missed.