Willard Owen McCarty was born April 30, 1936, in Mountain Grove, Missouri, to Theodore Deforest “Spig” and Ollie Leona (Frisbee) McCarty. After a battle with cancer, he passed from this life on June 11, 2024, in Cabool, Missouri, at the age of 88.
As a young child, Willard lived in Seattle, Washington, and returned to Mountain Grove in 1944. He attended and graduated from Mountain Grove High School in 1954.
On June 4, 1955, he married his high school sweetheart, Marjorie Postlewaite, and to this union, a daughter, Karen, was born.
After high school, Willard worked for Sanders and McCarty Pump, Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning, which was a family-owned business. In 1970, the business divided with T.D. and Ollie McCarty doing the pump and plumbing, and Tom and Glenna Sanders doing the heating and air conditioning. In 1971, Willard and his brother-in-law, Dean Postlewaite, purchased Sanders Heating and Air. They operated under the name P & M Heating, Air, and Sheet Metal. In 1977, Willard became sole owner of the business and continued for 10 years. He sold the business to Bob Shannon in 1987, and Shannon’s Heating and Air is still in business today.
In 1987, Willard started working for the Mountain Grove Housing Authority in maintenance and retired from there in 2009. His retirement was short lived. That same year (2009) he accepted a maintenance position at Ridgecrest Apartments and just recently retired for a second time in January 2024.
Willard was saved and baptized as a young boy and rededicated his life as a middle-aged man. He loved the Lord and was active in Gideons and the Emmanuel Baptist Church. For anyone that knew him, his favorite saying was, “I’m Blessed”. He never let his illness take away his joy and faith and praised the Lord until the day he passed.
Willard was preceded in death by his parents, T.D. and Ollie McCarty, and wife, Sharon (Hitt) McCarty.
He is survived by his daughter, Karen Linton, two grandchildren, B.J. (Rosanna) Proctor and Ashley (Ryan) Duey, seven great-grandchildren, Haylee, Jaxyn, and Savannah Proctor, Ella and Eli Duey, and Abby and Tucker Fry, one brother, Eddie (Vicki) McCarty, and a host of family and friends.
Willard never met a stranger. He was a jokester who loved people fiercely and gave to so many, never expecting or wanting anything in return. His willingness, quick wit and smile will be missed by all who knew and loved him!
Memorial contributions can be made to Gideons or Emmanuel Baptist Church
