Brandon Twp.-In the1980s, township resident Roger McCarville once told a Detroit newspaper, ‘Rosa Parks could get on the bus to protest (and) we still can’t get on the bus.?
McCarville’s quip at Detroit City officials, followed his arrest after he and others chained themselves to city buses on Jefferson Avenue, protesting a lack of adequate services for riders with disabilities.
‘Dad did not just talk about it, nor was he afraid to take a stand or take the heat for his actions? including jail,? said Dan McCarville, 45, youngest son of Roger.
‘Dad told me when the Detroit police arrived, they had no idea what to do with all those in wheelchairs blocking the buses. It was a major state-ment.?
Roger McCarville’s battle with Detroit buses was just one during a 30-year crusade for those with disabilities statewide.
McCarville died Sept. 7 of pneumonia in POH Medical Center, Pontiac.
He was 72.
McCarville was 38 and riding in the bow of a small boat on township Lake Louise when he fell overboard. The boat propeller severed both his legs, leaving McCarville near death and sinking to the lake bottom. His two boating companions that day just happened to be paramedics and quickly jumped in the lake and pulled him to shore.
Surgeons reattached one leg, however the other leg was lost just below the knee. Following nearly 18 months of difficult rehabilitation, the father of six, Army veteran and longtime Dixie cup salesman began a new phase of life’a chapter transforming him into a chief spokesman for more than two million disabled statewide.
‘These people are leaving the hospital with disabilities and can’t get in their house or a store. Some things needed to be changed. I remember lying there and thinking of how was I going to support my family,? recalled McCarville in an interview with The Citizen in 2004. ‘I can’t even get in the door to my house.?
Soon after his release from the hospital, McCarville, his wife Doris, and his six children formed the Handicapped Transportation, Ltd., a service which provided disabled individuals with transportation for non-emergencies.
‘The company provided enough money to support our family and aid the lives of thousands,? recalled Dan.
An avid hunter and outdoorsman before his accident, McCarville realized that if a person with a disability enjoys outdoor activities, then such activities should not be hampered by a physical shortcoming. During the past 20 years, McCarville sparked Michigan lawmakers to pass laws that legalized the use of crossbows for hunters with disabilities, the use of four-wheelers for hunting and improving access to Department of Natural Resources Parks for the disabled.
For past 12 years McCarville has served as executive producer and host of ‘Disabilities Today,? a television show on disabilities. During the more than 200 segments, outdoor activities have included bird hunting, ice fishing and deer hunting for those with disabilities. The PBS show is aired at 9:30 a.m. each Saturday, Channel 28 Flint and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Channel 56 Detroit. It was also simulcast across North America, reaching millions of households.
‘I remember Dad visiting an elementary school and for many of the school children, this was the first time they’d ever been that close to someone in a wheelchair,? said Dan. ‘Dad figured the next time those kids saw someone with a disability, they’d attempt to interact with them. It was a matter of breaking down those barriers.?
McCarville served as past chairman of the Michigan Easter Seal Society; associate sports director for the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America; founder and board member of Outdoors Forever, founder and member of Oakland-Macomb Center for Independent Living; founder and member of the Michigan Wheelchair Basketball Association and was a member of the State Championship Wheelchair Basketball team.
‘I played in ‘The Irish Wakes and Weddings Band,? founded by my dad in about 1979,? said Dan. ‘His real strength was working the crowd, connecting to the audience. He was witty and often got people to come up and sing with us.?
If the severed leg injures were not enough, he was diagnosed with myelodysplasia syndrome, (a form of pre-leukemia) in 1995. Yet, Roger beat the odds again as his younger brother Tom donated his bone marrow to help cure the illness. Although experimental medications caused temporary blindness and loss of hearing both were restored, McCarville reported in an interview with The Citizen.
In addition, McCarville was Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Detroit; awarded the Jerry Stackhouse Award, elected 1997 Michiganian of the Year, earned the Special Opportunities for Amputees Rehabilitation award and received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame. And in January 2004, he received the Ambassadors for Peace Award in Washington, DC.
On Feb. 27, 2007, McCarville was appointed to a two-year term to the Michigan Statewide Independent Living Council by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. As a councilmember, he monitored state programs and how they represented disabled people, assured buildings were in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, assisted various organizations for the disabled, and advocated for the disabled at municipal meetings.
The day McCarville turned 72, Sept. 15, 2008, he was poolside at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, taking in swimming events. The day was part of an unforgettable week McCarville said, covering the games to be broadcast back to North America for ‘Disabilities Today.?
‘This community meant a lot to dad,? said Dan. ‘He was grateful to this town. Long after there was Home Depot, he would still go to Featherston’s Hardware (Ortonville).?
‘Dad was the busiest guy I’ve ever met. He figured he should not have survived that boat accident 35 years ago’he had a second chance and was living on borrowed time. When you live so close to the edge you make the most of the hours you have left here. I was 10- years-old when he lost his legs; I almost lost my dad’I had a second chance with him.?