John M. McCarthy, 78, stockbroker

John M. McCarthy, 78, of Jenkintown, a stockbroker for Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg from 1987 until Annenberg's death in 2002, died of a heart attack Tuesday at his home.

Mr. McCarthy did not choose stockbroking as a lifetime career.

While working as a civil engineer, his wife, Denise, recalled, "he said, 'I made the same amount of money two years in a row.' And he said, 'I'm getting out.' And he went into the stock business."

Recalling his determination, she said, "It took years before he started making money. It was a struggle, but it's worth it."

Mr. McCarthy was born in Natick, Mass., graduated from Wellesley (Mass.) High School in 1948, and earned his bachelor's degree in engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1953.

After working as an engineer for Chrysler Corp. in Detroit, Mr. McCarthy moved his family to Huntsville, Ala., in 1958, where he was a stress engineer at the Redstone Arsenal.

It was there, his wife said, that he decided that stocks were to be his future.

From 1960 until his death, she said, he worked in the Philadelphia offices of Reynolds & Co., which was bought by Dean Witter, which was bought by Morgan Stanley.

At his death, she said, he was a senior vice president at Morgan Stanley.

Recalling the rapport between Mr. McCarthy and Annenberg, the billionaire publisher and philanthropist, she said, "They loved each other, Walter and Jack. We were at dinner a couple of times in Wynnewood.

"Just to see the place was wonderful," she said of the Annenberg estate. "I was so intimidated at first."

Noting that her husband was "very down to earth," she said that for the first visit, "we brought a six-pack and a casserole" - then emphasized that she was only joking.

Besides his wife of 50 years, Mr. McCarthy is survived by sons Jack and Barry, and daughters Deidre Barnes, Sheila Mundy, Megan Cianciulli, and Elizabeth.

A viewing will be from 9 to 11 a.m. today at Immaculate Conception Church, 602 West Ave., Jenkintown, followed by an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass there. Burial will be in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Retirement Fund, 1531 Greenspring Valley Rd., Stevenson, Md. 21153.