Francis (Joe) McPartlin
Francis Joseph McPartlin, a former General Motors executive who was a longtime East End resident, died at his Noyac home on Monday. He was 81 and had cancer.
Mr. McPartlin, who was called Joe, was born in Mount Vernon, N.Y., on Oct. 28, 1936, to Frank McPartlin, a recent immigrant from Scotland who worked as a vacuum cleaner salesman for Sears Roebuck, and the former Madeline Slowey of Sag Harbor. His early years were spent in southern Connecticut, but his family soon moved to Garden Street in Sag Harbor, where he and two younger sisters grew up. Four of their cousins lived next door.
Mr. McPartlin studied business at Iona College, from which he graduated in 1958. He was then stationed with the Army in Germany for two years and later served in the Reserves. He started working for the General Motors Acceptance Corporation, collecting past-due accounts and repossessing cars in the Bronx and Brooklyn in 1961, eventually becoming vice president of leasing at General Motors’ headquarters in Detroit.
It was while delivering newspapers as a young man in Sag Harbor that he met Claudia Guerin, the woman he married in the midst of a February blizzard in 1961. The couple lived in East Northport, where they brought up five children, whom they called “the troops.” They returned to the East End after Mr. McPartlin’s retirement in 1995.
As someone who loved to be outdoors, Mr. McPartlin kept active during retirement by golfing, working in the yard, and going to the beach. Mrs. McPartlin died in 1999 after 38 years of marriage. After her death, he and Patricia Manzi, a woman his family described as the “second love of his life,” were together for 17 years. His family said they enjoyed traveling in this country and abroad and had many adventures. A devout Catholic, Mr. McPartlin was a member of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor and served on its finance committee.
He is survived by his children, Cathy McPartlin Beaumont of Andover, Mass., Michael McPartlin of North Andover, Mass., Jim McPartlin of Mooresville, N.C., and Claudia McPartlin Weihler of Royal Oak, Mich. His son Stephen McPartlin died before him, as did his sister Eileen. His sister, Marie Brenner of Sag Harbor, survives, as do six grandchildren.
Visiting hours will be today from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor. A funeral Mass, celebrated by the Rev. Peter Devaraj, will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Church, followed by burial in the church cemetery. The family has suggested memorial donations to St. Andrew’s Church, 122 Division Street, Sag Harbor 11963.