J. Patrick "Pat" McCurdy III, who was paralyzed in a 1980 accident but refused to let his physical condition define who he was or keep him from an active life, died of a heart attack Aug. 11 at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center in Chestertown.
The former Guilford resident was 52.
"One of Pat's great features despite the horrendous thing that happened to him was never giving up," said Harold L. Adams, a computer programmer and friend of nearly 40 years. "He took life on life's terms and continued to be his normal self. He kept living life the best way he could."
The son of Baltimore Circuit Judge J. Patrick McCurdy Jr. and Mary Bridget McCurdy, a registered nurse, Joseph Patrick McCurdy III was born in Baltimore.
He was raised in the 300 block of Murdock Road in Rodgers Forge, then moved with his family to a home on Chancery Road in Guilford.
He attended Loyola High School, where he played football and lacrosse.
In 1980, Mr. McCurdy was 16 and had just finished his freshman year at Loyola when he was spending time at his family's summer home in Bethany Beach, Del.
A carefree summer day began with Mr. McCurdy body-surfing with a cousin and a friend — then turned tragic when a huge wave broke over him. It tossed him upside down and plunged him, head first, 4 feet to the ocean floor before the roiling surf returned him to the surface.
He recalled floating face down and, when he tried to move, found he could not. He began to panic. His swimming partners did not realize anything was wrong. Finally, the water flipped him face up.
"I realized I couldn't move. I didn't know what had happened, but I thought I was going to die. I was full of water," Mr. McCurdy told The Baltimore Sun in a 1981 interview.
Two other swimmers sensed Mr. McCurdy was in trouble and raced from the shore, followed by two lifeguards and several others. They carried the limp swimmer to the beach.
The accident broke his neck, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, save for limited use of his left arm and the ability to move his other arm slightly.
A yearlong odyssey for Mr. McCurdy began when he was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center from a hospital in Delaware. He was also a patient at Good Samaritan Hospital and the Rusk Institute in New York City.
His parents built a specially designed room in their Chancery Road home to accommodate their son's physical needs.
"The Jesuits at Loyola High School tutored him, and when he was in New York City, they found Jesuits at Loyola School, a high school, who came and taught Pat," said Judge McCurdy, who retired in 2006.
As a result, the teenager was able to graduate with his Loyola High School class in 1983. When Mr. McCurdy wheeled himself forward to receive his diploma, the entire student body, faculty and audience stood and applauded the courageous young man who had shown himself determined to carry on with his life.
"There have been moments when I've been real depressed and thought it wasn't worth living, especially when I first realized all the little things that I wouldn't be able to do anymore, like brushing my own teeth, or feeding myself, or getting myself dressed," he said in the 1981 interview.
"But those times when I wanted to die are far outweighed by the times I want to live," he said.
"It was just an inspiration to be around him. After the accident, he didn't go into a corner and curl up like a ball and say 'Woe is me,'" said Mr. Adams, who was a Loyola classmate. "A lot of people got a lot of encouragement from Pat."
"His courage speaks for itself, and he never backed down. He just wanted to go ahead with his life and was hell-bent to do so," said his father. "If there was something he wanted to do, he did it."
Mr. McCurdy went on to earn a bachelor's degree in 1987 from what is now Loyola University Maryland and studied law at the University of Baltimore.
He lived independently in an apartment in the Highfield House in Guilford. He worked for the Maryland Center for Independent Living in Baltimore and then for the National Disability Rights Network in Washington.
For eight years, until retiring in 2005, Mr. McCurdy was a vocational rehabilitation counselor with the state Department of Education.
"When he worked in an office on 40th Street, he'd travel by his wheelchair. And when he worked in Washington, a mobility bus would take Pat to the railroad station, where he caught the train each day," his father said. "On the last day riding the train, all of his friends on the train gave him a party."
"You kind of forgot that Pat was in a wheelchair. He loved Baltimore City, and we'd go bar-hopping, to the movies and ballgames. He loved the Ravens and Orioles," Mr. Adams said. "If there was something to be done, Pat went and did it."
Judge McCurdy said that when the Orioles and Colts were playing at the old Memorial Stadium, his son would travel there on his own in his wheelchair. Later, he became a Ravens season ticket holder.
Mr. McCurdy, who lived in Chestertown in recent years, enjoyed collecting coins and art. He also liked following and talking about politics and served as a family historian.
A memorial Mass for Mr. McCurdy will be offered at 4 p.m. Oct. 10 at Loyola High School in the Chapel of Our Lady of Montserrat, 500 Chestnut Ave., Towson.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by three sisters, Bissett McCurdy Schwanke of Stoneleigh, Megan McCurdy Spry of Chestertown and Bridget McCurdy Kotelly of Scituate, Mass.; and four nieces.