Obituary: Host of Detroit's "Disabilities Today" dies

From the Detroit Free Press:

As a man who lost a leg in a boating accident and beat leukemia with a bone-marrow transplant, Roger McCarville (pictured) was a serious advocate for people with disabilities.

But as a natural-born raconteur, who named his band Irish Wakes & Weddings, Mr. McCarville never let injury or illness stand in the way of a good time.

He would occasionally contrive to have his prosthetic leg fall off at just the right moment in a crowd, drawing gasps, then guffaws, as an impish grin crossed his face.

Mr. McCarville, of Ortonville, died Monday from complications of pneumonia. He was 72.

With a glint in his eye and a shillelagh in his hand, Mr. McCarville personified the characters of the Irish ballads he loved to sing.

His daughters were accomplished Irish step dancers and his two sons joined him in the band, which played annually on St. Patrick's Day at the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Hall in Warren.

The band also played bars, private parties and political fund-raisers. Mr. McCarville, a Democrat, said he didn't mind playing Republican events because "they got the money."

Mr. McCarville and his wife of 48 years, Doris, were mainstays of Irish causes across metro Detroit.

"I can't imagine the Irish community without him," said Dennis Hayes, president of the United Irish Societies, which named Mr. McCarville grand marshal of the Detroit St. Patrick's Day Parade in 1997. "He was just such a light in every room he entered. It's a tremendous loss."

His involvement with disabilities came after a 1975 boating accident that took most of one leg and badly injured the other.

"Once you get hurt, you think things are over," he told the Free Press in 2003. "But once you get out, you find that you're not the only amputee. Then you can help each other."

Mr. McCarville helped by traveling to Lansing, Washington and overseas advocating for disability rights. He organized wheelchair basketball leagues, hunting and fishing adventures and other activities to keep disabled people active. He created and hosted a radio program, "Disabilities Today," and later took it to public television. He served on the boards of dozens of organizations, including the local Easter Seals campaign.

"He wasn't afraid to see a challenge as an opportunity to effect change," said his son Daniel McCarville. "He loved life. He was committed to recognizing the abilities of every person."

Additional survivors include son Roger Jr.; daughters Margaret Sills, Maura Dewan, Bridget Wanczyk and Nancy Howles, and six grandchildren.