MCCARTY, FREDDIE

McCARTY, Freddie D.

"Fred"

Freddie D. "Fred" McCarty, 77, of Greenville, South Carolina, formerly of Dayton, Ohio, and LaFollette, Tennessee, passed away on December 2, 2021, with his family by his side. Fred was born to Fred and Cleo McCarty on July 21, 1944, in LaFollette, Tennessee. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army.

Fred is survived by his loving family- wife of 54 years, Linda, and his two sons, Ryan (Christine) and Keith (Rachel). While proud of being a husband and father, being "Grumpy" to his five adoring grandchildren- Anderson, Logan, Forrest, Garrett, and Caroline, is the title he loved best. Preceded in death by his parents, Fred is also preceded by his brother Kenneth McCarty and sister Lola Chumbley. He is also survived by his sisters, Elsie Baldino, Trula Wilson, Gail Keeton (David), Debbie Shields, and his sister-in-law, Yvonne McCarty, along with a boatload of nieces and nephews for whom he cared deeply.

Fred retired from Chrysler in Dayton, Ohio, after more than three decades where he started on the assembly line and retired as the Human Resources Manager. He had many fond memories of his friends and colleagues at the plant and in the local Union. Following his retirement, Fred fulfilled his lifelong goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail which he successfully did on his first attempt at the age of 62. The AT was his passion for the remainder of his life, and he returned to it often and logged many more miles on it until he couldn't. His sons joined him on the AT a few times only to find out what a tough, old goat their father was as he climbed up the side of mountains and scrambled across ridgelines.

Fred was a lifelong University of Tennessee Volunteers fan. He enjoyed home cooked meals, Little Debbie cakes, and Vienna sausages. He was kind to animals and was always feeding and sheltering a stray cat or two (which we all know probably belonged to the neighbors). He also made sure to put out a little food for the opossums and racoons too. His ability to cobble together a lawn mower from the parts of other mowers was legendary in his family. He kept an immaculate yard with beds and pots overflowing with beautiful flowers. Fred planted a vegetable garden every year that was too big. He enjoyed giving most of it away to anyone that would take some tomatoes, cucumbers, or whatever else was ripe at that time.

A visitation will be held on Thursday, December 9, 2021, between 3:00-5:00 pm at Cross-Smith Funeral Home in LaFollette, Tennessee, with a committal service the following day at Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee. The family requests that those in attendance please wear a face covering and observe social distancing protocols to the best of their abilities. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, P.O. Box 807, Harpers Ferry, WV, 25425 (www.appalachiantrail.org) or to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, 1702 East Highland Ave., Suite 400, Pheonix, AZ 85016 (www.wish.org).

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