John Edmund McGarry Jr., a longtime state employee and Olin Mathieson Chemical Corp. worker who helped bring his Loyola College basketball team to a historic victory in 1947, died Tuesday of multiple organ failure at St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson. The Baltimore County resident was 83.
Mr. McGarry, who was born in Baltimore and lived for many years in Hampden, graduated from Loyola High School in 1942 and finished Loyola College in three years, graduating in 1947.
In 1947, Mr. McGarry was a co-captain of the Loyola Greyhounds, leading what is considered to be among the best basketball teams the college ever produced. The team dominated the state and the old Mason-Dixon Conference, said former teammate Jim Lacy.
Mr. McGarry served in the Pacific as a Navy radar operator during World War II.
He attended the University of Maryland Law School and worked for 15 years for Olin Mathieson in Baltimore.
He also spent several years as a deputy director of the Office of General Services in the Maryland Department of Economic and Employment Development, now the Department of Business and Economic Development. He retired in 1991.
Mr. McGarry was an avid golfer and played in a group for more than 20 years at the Country Club of Maryland. He enjoyed tennis, crossword puzzles and woodworking. At Christmas, he displayed more than 100 Santas made of wood, metal and ceramics.
"He was wonderful. He had the biggest heart in the world," said his daughter, Megan McGarry Norris of Towson. "He lit up a room when he walked in."
He was a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 200 Ware Ave. in Towson, where a memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Mr. McGarry is also survived by his wife of 51 years, Nina D. McGarry of Towson, and three grandchildren.
john.fritze@baltsun.com