Roderick A. McGarry III

Cumberland – Roderick A. McGarry III, 81, of Cumberland passed away peacefully Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at home surrounded by his loving family. He was the beloved husband of the late Michele A. (Talbot) McGarry who died in January 2020.

   Born April 24, 1942, in Providence, son of the late Roderick A. McGarry, Jr. and the late Mary (Kearns) McGarry, Rod grew up in the Elmhurst section of Providence and had lived in Cumberland for the past 51 years. Rod was educated at St. Pius School, attended LaSalle Academy, graduated from Providence College (1968), and received his MBA from Bryant University in 1981.

   Rod spent 30 years in management in the transportation industry rising to the level of COO of a large trucking company. In 1996, he took early retirement in order to spend more time with his family and pursue a desire to teach. In 2010, Rod retired from the adjunct faculty of NEIT to help his wife Michele who was dealing with the effects of Alzheimer’s. For the next 10 years until Michele’s death in 2020, Rod and Michele could be seen walking with their dog (rain or shine) five or six miles every day in Cumberland, and at their much beloved summer home in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Although recent years became quiet, Rod and Michele took great pleasure in having their children and grandchildren visit, especially their extended stays in Maine. Seeing the excitement of the grandchildren when they caught their first fish off the dock, or their first jump off the so-called “cliff”, or the first venture of the rope swing was as Rod often remarked “worth a million dollars”.

   Rod is survived by his loving children, Roderick A. McGarry IV (Kristen), Colleen R. McGarry (David) and Alanna M. Don (Ethan); his seven beloved grandchildren, Matthew Roderick, Theodore and Joseph McGarry, Noah and Taylor O’Neil, and Sullivan Roderick and Mallory Michele Don; his loving sister, Marlene “Polly” McDonald and her husband Jim; and many nieces, a nephew, and cousins.

   His Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, July 17, 2023 at 10 A.M. in St. Pius V Church, 240 Eaton Street, Providence. His burial will be in St. Francis Cemetery, Pawtucket. The family will receive family and friends Monday from 9 – 9:45 A.M. at the Church.

   Please omit flowers. Contributions in Rod’s memory to Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library, 4 Oak Street, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538 (www.bbhlibrary.org) would be greatly appreciated. For Directions and Guest Book, please visit www.bellowsfuneralchapel.com. Arrangements entrusted with Bellows Funeral Chapel, 160 River Road, Lincoln.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Roderick A. McGarry III, please visit our floral store.