Obituary: Edward J. McGrath, Former Grad Assistant and Athlete

Edward J. McGrath of Harwich Port, MA died at the age of 94. Ed is survived by his wife of 69 years, Rueith (McKenney), as well as James and Betsy McGrath of Plymouth, Brad and Cindy McGrath of Walpole and Sheila McGrath of Quincy. He was predeceased by son Jeffrey McGrath. Originally from Easthampton, Massachusetts, Ed was predeceased by siblings Sister Margaret James McGrath, James McGrath, C. Bradley McGrath, Betty Walsh and Mary Woods all of Western Massachusetts.

Ed loved the University of Massachusetts. He attended UMass in 1941 on a basketball scholarship but left to enroll in the Navy after Pearl Harbor. He served all four years of the war on a destroyer, the USS Clark, primarily assigned to convoy runs in the North Atlantic. After the war, Ed returned to UMass where he was captain of the basketball and baseball teams and an All-American soccer goalie. He worked as a graduate assistant in the pysics and astronomy from 1973 until 1976. After graduation, Ed started a long career in public education as a teacher, counselor, and basketball coach, primarily at Clarkstown High School in New City, NY.

Ed moved to Cape Cod in 1980 and both taught and worked as a counselor at Cape Cod Tech in Harwich.