PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Harold “Hank” K. McCard, beloved husband of Charlotte (Despres) McCard, passed away on March 4, 2022 at Portsmouth Regional Hospital after a brief illness. He had recently celebrated his 90th birthday.

Hank was born in East Corinth to Fred and Ada (Drake) McCard. He grew up on his parents’ farm, where he worked long hours when he wasn’t attending school. His father taught him how to grow, build and fix just about anything. His mother taught him everything else. She was his teacher for eight years at a one-room schoolhouse on the McCard Road, and became the principal at East Corinth Academy when he enrolled there. (Hank often said he couldn’t get away with anything for those 12 years because his mother expected him to be an example to the other students.)

Hank dreamed of becoming an engineer, so joined the Navy in 1951 where he served on the USS John Hood for four years. Upon his honorable discharge, he enrolled at the University of Maine in Orono to pursue a degree in electrical engineering.

He met the love of his life, Charlotte, on a blind date in Bangor. They moved to Massachusetts in 1959, where he joined the AvcoCorporation in Wilmington, Mass. as a junior engineer. He earned an M.S. in Engineering degree at Northeastern University in Boston while working his way up the management ladder at Avco. In 1976, he was selected to attend MIT’s Sloan School, where he earned an M.S. in Management degree. In 1983, he became president of Textron Defense Systems (formerly Avco Systems Division). In 1995, he was promoted to Senior VP of Operations for Textron at their corporate offices in Providence, R.I. Hank established the Textron Systems Retirees Association in 2000, which continues to thrive to this day.

When he wasn’t working, Hank loved to garden, play golf and tennis, and especially to ski. He spent many happy hours on the slopes of Sugarloaf, where he and Charlotte owned a second home. He was a gifted researcher and was devoted to studying climate change until his final days.

Hank is survived by his wife, Charlotte; his daughter, Renee Wolf Foster and her husband Stephen Foster of Amesbury, Mass., his son, Robert F. McCard of California; and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his parents Fred and Ada McCard; and his sisters Myra Duncan, Phyllis Simpson and Marion Sullivan.

Hank was an extraordinary man. He will be deeply missed.

Visiting hours will be held at the Cota Funeral Home, 335 Park St., North Reading, Mass. (Corner of Park St. and Route 28 at the Reading Line) on Thursday, March 10 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A funeral service will immediately follow the visitation at 6 p.m.

For information, directions and to leave an online condolence, please visit http://www.cotafuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Hank’s memory to the Northeast Animal Shelter

in Salem, Mass.

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