Sean Everett McGarry, 24, of Greensboro, North Carolina, passed away January 29, 2011 in Norfolk. Born on Wednesday, January 21, 1987 in Brooklyn, NY, he was the son of Margaret Lapré, the brother of Christine McGarry and son of Steven McGarry.
Sean enjoyed the outdoors, especially anything to do with sun, sand and water, and he was equally fond of snow and winter. He loved spending time with his family and friends. Before being honorably discharged in October, Sean responded to a call of duty to his country and served in the Navy aboard the USS Harry S Truman. During this time, he was recognized as ABHAN and achieved the rank of E-3.
He is survived by his six aunts, five uncles, and many, many cousins.
He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, Jeanne and Peter Lapré; and his paternal grandparents, Constance and Vincent McGarry.
The family will receive friends on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at Family Choice Funerals and Cremations, 5401 Indian River Road, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23464, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Interment will be private. Donations may be made to the Soldier Suicide Preventionat Beck Institute by visitinig the following link: www.soldierssuicideprevention.org.
Condolences may be made via the online guestbook.
With all the love in the world, here are a few words from his loving uncle, Pete Lapre:
Thank you for being here to show your love and support for my family.
Although Sean’s time with us was short, he certainly left us with more than a lifetime of memories. Sean was more than one man who walked this earth; he was a loving and caring son to his mother, a loving brother to Christine, a nephew to his proud aunts & uncles, an awesome cousin and supportive friend.
I could stand here and remind you that Sean touched all of our lives but you already know that. Reflecting upon my nephew’s life I’m reminded of our family gatherings, summers at the lake and our over the top Christmas celebrations with all the trimmings including the annual visit by Santa, Sean never let on that he knew who was inside that suit! Sean embraced all that nature had to offer! He was a man for all seasons…fun in the sun, surf, snow and the delight and allure in a pile of leaves. If I close my eyes, I can and always will clearly see your beautiful blue eyes reminiscent of the ocean seas and a strong handsome smile that had the ability to warm the coldest of hearts!
Sean proudly served his country and was quite accomplished while doing so. It has often been said, that the measure of a man is answered by asking, is the world a better place now than it was before he arrived? Yes, for me and for all who have been touched by Sean’s love we can all say with pride Sean was a good man and we are all better people for having him in our lives. I can only hope and pray that if he didn’t know it then, he knows it now.
God Bless you Sean, I will always love you and miss you!
Send Flowers
Rest easy Sean. Our thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. You will be greatly missed, but never forgotten. God Bless!
My Precious Nephew Sean,
You take with you a piece of my heart that will forever be yours. Know that with every prayer and whisper of your name my love is sent to that special place where you found your peace. God Bless…I love you.
Rest In Peace sean….. you will be missed
You will be very much missed by everyone, friends and family! I remember the time you sat in the car with me and Mj and told me how teens that have babies young, a high % ends up on wellfare haha. Good thing i listened to you! RIP 🙁
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this time. Please do let us know what we can do for the family…
Dale & Teresa Weidenhammer
Darren Weidenhammer
Marge and Christine..Bob and I are so deeply saddened and crushed that Sean has passed. I have seen that Sean was brave and is to be honored for his service to his country. I was just looking at some photos of the kids when they were little just yesterday and telling a friend stories of our snow days here in Pocono Farms and how much fun it all was. You will be in our Prayers.Vicke, Bob
hey homie we had good times man its been good times chilling workin with u man u will be missed man. r.i.p homie. prayers go out to u and ur family man
My thoughts and prayers are with your family. May you rest in peace.
My thoughts and prayer to you and your family.
Best memory of ya Sean was every year we would get stuck in homeroom together with the “uhh not u again” jokes, we would bump into each other and u would still have the jokes! Or when u wouldn’t talk to be for a day bc I wouldn’t dye my hair green for the month of march 🙂 After you moved i didn’t get to see ya but I wish I wouldve been on FB knowing I could’ve bugged ya a couple last times! rest easy! My prayers are with you friends and family
We will forever love, miss and remember you Sean. RIP
Marge and Christine, I am so sorry for your loss. You and your family remain in our thoughts and prayers. I will always remember Sean telling us that he was 1/3 Mexican cause Chris was marrying Joe and he was now our “lil brother from another mother”
Love you and if there is anything you need I’m here. RIP Sean:(
Sean will be missed by many! God bless his family and all over his friends. Thank you Sean for everything you did for our country!
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal…”
RIP Sean
You’ll be missed by many
Marge and Christine our thoughts and prayer are with you and Sean always. Sean thanks for your service to our country. I will always remember the kind ,polite person you are.You where a gift from GOD to us all and may GOD welcome you home
“You will forever live inside of our hearts with the memories that will never be forgotten!” R.I.P Sean McGarry ¦
Mcgarry, I cant explain in words how hard it is to say “good-bye,” but I can say the tears that have been shed for you speak more than words. Its hard to think your gone already at such a young age, but we are so thankful you have such a special place in our hearts. Everytime we watch the Jets play from this day forward, we will always think of you 🙂 and how much you loved them!! Our thoughts and prayers go out to your family.
My thoughts and prayers are with your family. You will be missed… Rest in peace!!
Rest In Peace Sean. You will be missed. It seemed not that long ago that you messaged me on FB to see how I was doing. My thoughts and prayers are with your family! You are in a better place now where you will stay forever young.
Dear Margie and Christine we’re so sorry for your loss and our loss. Sean will be dearly missed now and forever. We’ve got lots of great memories. Sean will always be in our hearts and prayers. We love you.
We will forever cherish the memories of Sean and the times spent at the Lapre’ family events in Pawling by the lake. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers and Sean will forever be in our hearts and memories. All Our Love & Blessings!
My Dearest Margie & Christine,
May God & the Angels keep you & yours under there Wings Always.
My Dearest Sean,I have this feeling there’s one more star in the sky,even though it’s far
away,it’s brightness & warmth will still reach all that love you .God Bless you ( RIP )
You are a person that no one will forget, you will always be thought about and missed. We now have a handsome angel looking down at us! Love you. My thoughts go out to the family.
Rest in Peace Sean. Was always nice seeing you when you’d come back to PA. Marge and Christine please know our prayers are with you. God Bless! Patti,Chris and boys.
Sean I will miss you, grieve for you and most importantly always remember you! Xoxo
Rest well, Sean. You will always remain in my heart and and memory.
Aunt Margie and Christine, my heart goes out to you both. May the hopes, prayers, and love of all us all comfort you.
Sean McGarry,
It’s the little things and encouraging words sometimes that make a big difference in the lives of people you have touched. Thank you for all of the encouragement and “words of the wise” that you have shared with me. Though small they’ve made the biggest difference and shed much light on cloudy days. Rest in peace.
To the parents and family of Sean: I am deeply sorry for your loss. Sean was a genuine person with the best of intent. May you, in time, find some light in this place that seems so dark now.
Margie and Christine,
Our thoughts and prayers are with both of you. Please know that in this time of deep sorrow the love of your family is here for you both.
God Bless
Sean, you will be forever loved and missed by all of those who knew you. I will never forget all the fun times we had together. Love you forever!
My sincere condolences to Sean’s family & friends.
Mcgarry, thoughts an prayers go out to your family we had some good times bro in A school an on the truman togather knowing you the last 5 years has been a pleasure. You were a great person an a good friend you will be missed alot. RIP sean
You will never be forgotten Sean, your kindness still continues to touch everyone around you. We are missing you.
Our prayers are with you the family! I didn’t know SEan but my husband (ABHAN Joseph Stanford)served with him on the last deployment with the USS Harry S Truman and he said he was a great guy and he and alot of the guys really liked him and since hearing the news while they are out on their ammo-offload alot of the guys have cried for days !I can’t imagine losing a son brother or nephew but I did want to let you all know that our prayers and thoughts are with you the family! May the Lord wrap his arms around you and help you thru this difficult time!
Sean….Words cannot express the sadness I feel from losing you as a friend. Your heart was too kind for this cruel world. The sensitivity and compassion we shared as friends will never erase from my mind. I only pray that you have found the peace you have always been searching for. May god rest your soul. I love you so much Sean BONNNNN……My greatest sympathy and condolences go to the Mcgarry Family.
MATTHEW 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
PSALM 37:23-24
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
Our thoughts and prayers are with this family. Our son serves on the Truman and also graduated boot camp with your Sean. He said that Sean was thought very highly of by all the sailors on the Truman that knew him. His family will be in our prayers as we know what each family goes through when they lose their children to the Military. May GOD bless each one of this family.
Fair Winds and Following Seas. You served your country well and that is an honorable thing. Your memory will be carried on by those walking in your footsteps on flight lines and flight decks abroad. AB’s RULE!!!!!
hey mcgarry, all i can say is that it was a pleasure to work with you aboard the uss harry s. truman, i cant believe your gone man, im going to miss u man, god bless you sean
My heart goes out to you…Sean will always be in our hearts..Galen has him by the hand showing him the way..and till we see them again..Love always Ro
One of the hardest things to do is say goodbye; Sean to me will be remembered for our childhood together. The man he became I wish I knew better, as it was an honor to be able to speak his name for the service he provided our country. Forever he will remain in my prayers. God watch over Sean, his family and friends.
I will miss Sean dearly and will always remember the great times we had together growing up. I’m trying to hold back my tear cause I’m sure Sean wouldn’t want me to cry just, but to remember him. I am sorry i can’t be at the ceremonies because I’m currently serving the air force in Korea. The fact that Sean isn’t direct family is what the military tells me why I can’t take leave to come home. In real Sean Was direct family and I will always love Sean E. McGarry, my cousin.
So here i am in VA, not for a good reason, but yea. I am glad that i am here. I told Christine that i did not want to see Sean in the casket because i want to remember him the way i know him. I have been to allot of funerals in my 24 years of age, and i am just so fed up at looking at a loved one in a casket. their body cold, skin and face white, lips really pink and red, hair not done the way the deceased likes. It is like a picasso painting in front of our eyes, for you to touch, for you to examine and look at, then for you to say GOODBYE. I realized yesterday that i am going to say GOODBYE to Sean even though i do not want to let go. Life is a learning process, everyday we learn something new. How to except, how to cherish, how to love, how to fight, the list goes on. Today will be a day of letting go. How do you let go? It is not a easy task. Sean was a son, Sean was a brother, Sean was a friend. To me, Sean was a friend, brother, sister, mother, father, girlfriend, once again the list goes on. The last 4 years i brush my teeth with Sean, shaved with Sean, showered with Sean, ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with Sean, worked out with Sean, drank with Sean. To think about it, we even got matching tattoos in France on our 2nd deployment together. Sean is FAMILY to me, and this is why i have to let go and say GOODBYE to him one last time. He will always be in my heart, and always on my mind, and always by my side, dead or alive. I am going to miss Sean very much, but i will always remember and cherish what i had with him. I miss and love you Sean Everett McGarry. Good bye.
“Dont worry, were all clear, were all clear now.”
S.E.M.
Love Brandon Aaron Litt
My thoughts and prayers are with each of you. My son served with Sean on the USS Harry S Truman.
Marge & Christine,
The Staff at Deerwood sends many thoughts and prayers to you during this difficult time. We are truly so sorry!
Joy, Leah, Erin,Lou, Igor, & David
I’m going to miss you buddy…
Longing for one more day when we lose someone we love…It seems that time stands still. What moves through us is a silence…a quite sadness…a longing for one more day…one more word…one more touch…We may not understand why Sean left this earth so soon or why he left before we were ready to say good bye, But little by little, we begin to remember not just that Sean died, but that he lived. And that his life gave us memories too beautifil to forget. We will see Sean again some day In a heavenly place where there are no words that mean good-bye. With fondest memories Love Aunt Tish and Uncle John
Steve, I am lost for words, and I am so, so sorry. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your close ones.
Maggie
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there… I do not sleep.
I am the thousand winds that blow…
I am the diamond glints on snow…
I am the sunlight on ripened grain…
…I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you waken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of gentle birds in circling flight…
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry—
I am not there… I did not die
Thank You to all my friends and family for you sweet and memorable thoughs and kind words. Though this very hard time you have made me smile with your memories of my son. This brings so much joy to me that I can here these stories from when he was young and also the Navy. Please keep in touch with me so that I can share in these memoris and still be a part of him. I also would like to know how you are all doing this will help me to be part of your lives and keep Sean with me also.
Navy people this was my sons last part of his life with you. He shared work and fun times with you. Slept and ate with you for those long trips out to sea.. I so much would love to here from you all. Keep Sean in your hearts and live your life with his memory to honor him. Love and Thank you all to the Navy!
To all: These were the hardest days of my life. They were also made so much easier in ways with words of kindness and warm thoughts. I wish to say in Seans memory thankyou for helping me and his sister Christine through this. Tradgey of this nature brings about so many thoughts I wish you would keep them and live your lives like it was your last day on earth. I know in time everything will go on as before. But just maybe Sean can help you to remember. Life is to live and live well. Those little family problems or job problems that come along in life are they worth the trouble not to speak to family or friends for many years? Or other things that creep in minds that life is not worth living? NO….there is no problem that can’t be worked out. There is nothing in this world with some help from family or friend that can’t be fixed. Live your life! I love you all
Hi Sean,
We just came back from VA yesterday. Christine and I went to Greenies. Your favorite place. The Truman had just come in the day before so a lot of your shipmates came and others that had gotten out around the same time as you. We drank a toast to you again your favorite, Jamison!! And then Christine and I at night of course went out to the beach. We took off our shoes and socks and rolled up our pants. OHhhhh the water was so cold and it was so windy the tide was coming in!!! Well Sean we sent you on your way to visit all the ports around the world to have a drink and to meet a girl in every port…you visit. Everyone came out to see you off half the Truman..Well maybe not that many LOL but they all clapped and sent you on your way. Christine read a poem it was beautiful. You had some great friends Sean. They really loved you. They asked one question. Why couldn’t you talk to one of them?? Or me or your sister for that matter. They loved you so much Sean one had a Yankees hat with your name on it several had tee’s made with your picture on them..they even want to put tattoos like yours on themselves…So many of your friends all came and gave me hugs or held my hand and told me stories we laughed and cried it was great Sean. Some showed me pictures of you and them. You are so loved and the great times you had just so very short of a time, Sean.
We miss you and love you so much.
Love you always Mom …Proud of You!