Andrew "Buck" McGarity, Jr.

Andrew “Buck” McGarity, Jr. passed away peacefully May 6th, 2023 in Huntington Beach, California at age 83.

Buck is survived by his children Michelle (Steve) and Drew; his four grandchildren, Maddie (Sean), Colleen (Mark), Rachel, and Braden; and his great-grandson, Parker. He was preceded in death by his father Andrew B. McGarity and his mother Martha W. McGarity. His daughter Melissa McGarity also passed in 2023."

Buck was born in Summerville, South Carolina. In addition to trumpet, football and student council, Buck was proud of the school bus driver license he earned at age 15. Buck attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute, now Auburn University, prior to enlisting in the United States Air Force. Buck served as navigator during the Cuban Missile Crisis, a pilot in the South East Asia Forward Air Control and an F4 fighter jet instructor. After military service and earning his Ph.D. at United States International University with a dissertation promoting an unconventional strategy to reach troubled youth, Buck built his clinical psychology practice counseling teenagers and those seeking recovery from domestic violence.

Buck enjoyed golf, fishing, horseback riding, RV camping, coaching little league, watching baseball and football, dancing, traveling the world, remodeling the family home, building his own cabin in the backwoods and Katrina-relief work trips. After owning two other general aviation planes, Buck built and flew an experimental RV8 aerobatic-capable aircraft.

Buck was an elder and Sunday School teacher at several Presbyterian churches, returning to his Baptist roots at The Bay in Lomita, California.

A Celebration of Life service was held Saturday, September 2, 2023, at Church of the Valley, 20700 Standing Rock Avenue, Apple Valley, CA 92307.

Burial will be held at Pleasant Grove Presbyterian Church in Chester, South Carolina, 11 AM Friday, July 4th, 2025.

Send an email to michellemcdunton@gmail.com to receive a link to Celebration of Life video.