Douglas B. MacCarthy ’54

Douglas MacCarthy died unexpectedly June 27, 2011, at home.  

Born in St. Louis, Doug majored in geology at Princeton. After graduating he started an architectural firm. Born with retinitis pigmentosa, he was completely blind by age 35. He described this condition as an inconvenience. He changed course to a new career at the Bank of St. Louis. Since 1998, he served as a vice president in the Ladue, Mo., office of Merrill Lynch. He often worked at home, and said: “I miss a lot that you can see, but you miss a lot that I can hear.” He and his business partner, Chuck Freeman, developed his garden as one of the 100 best in America in the last half of the 20th century.

Away from home, Doug spent much time serving on boards and raising money. He was the first president of the board of the Contemporary Art Museum and the Missouri Citizens for the Arts. He was past president of the Forum for Contemporary Arts and served on the boards of the Missouri Botanical Garden, the St. Louis Art Museum, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Missouri Mission Preservation.

The class extends its condolences to Doug’s godchildren, Emily Huber and Lucy Huff; and his sister, Ann Parke.