Scholarship set up for Patrick McCourt

A Web page set up to handle a scholarship fund in memory of Patrick McCourt Jr., of Huntington, an avid New York Yankees fan, shows a smiling young man with a vaguely familiar baseball cap with the letter "B" on the front.

"He loved that people thought it was the Boston Red Sox. He got such a kick out of that. Actually it was the Boston Braves," (1912-1953) his mother, Mary McCourt, said.

His father, Patrick McCourt Sr., said his son had a rare mixture of maturity and youthfulness. "He was a very serious kid, but very funny. The cap was inside baseball to him. He liked that he had to explain that to everybody," his father said.

The younger McCourt, 22, was struck and killed by two passing cars Sept. 17 in Holbrook as he walked along Veterans Memorial Highway. Police said this week that the investigation was still open, but no charges were likely.

A funeral service was held Wednesday at Our Lady Queens of Martyrs in Centerport. McCourt was buried at St. Patrick's Cemetery in Huntington.

McCourt graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., last year with a degree in civil engineering. He had been working on area bridge projects for Skansa Koch, a Carteret, N.J., construction firm where he had been an intern during the summers he was in college.

"I always knew he was a great kid -- and that's been confirmed for me during the past few days -- but I never knew he had so many friends. Over 1,000 people told me the same thing," his father said.

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Both parents said their son grew up with a fascination for architecture and building. He played constantly with LEGO and K'NEX building toys.

McCourt attended Chaminade High School for two years, then transferred to Huntington High School.

He was on the fencing team and the marching band at Huntington and helped establish a local Ultimate Summer Frisbee League several years ago with his friends.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by sisters Kiera and Meredith and brother Michael -- all Huntington residents.

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His parents said the scholarship fund -- at patrickmccourtmemorialfund.com -- is still in the works, but that people can sign up now and they will be contacted later.

The fund will be for Huntington High School graduates who are college bound. "The scholarships will go to those who embody who Patrick was," his mother said. "We're unsure yet of the details."