Tara A. McCarthy of Weston, MA, died peacefully on March 1, 2021, following a fourteen month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 61 years old.
She was the beloved wife of Orrin G. Wood and devoted mother to Kaitlin E. Wood. She leaves behind her two older brothers Stephen J. McCarthy of Rye, NY, and Neil M. McCarthy of Wellington, FL, as well as her younger sister Laurette E. McCarthy of Indianapolis, IN.
Tara was born on May 24,1959, in New York City to the late John Michael McCarthy and Mary Hickey McCarthy and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Hempstead, N.Y. She attended Duke University for college, followed by the Yale Physicians Assistant program, and Tufts Medical School where she trained in Pediatrics and Public Health. She went on to work at Children’s Hospital, the Centers of Disease Control, and for the City of Boston Public Health Dept., as well as doing research at Harvard University.
The first scholarship player in the women’s basketball program at Duke, Tara was an avid athlete and coach, and a diehard Duke basketball fan. She loved to travel the world with her family and spend quality time with her friends, and she was involved with numerous charities including the Emily K Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Jane Goodall Institute.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, Aug. 12 at 10:00am in St. Julia's Church, Weston. Relatives and friends kindly invited. A private interment will follow in Linwood Cemetery, Weston.
In lieu of flowers, donations in her name may be made to the Emily K Center, 904 W Chapel Hill St, Durham, NC 27701.