Devin McCafferty Long, 22, died at home on June 23, 2020. Devin was born March 4, 1998 in Denver, Colorado to Geraldine McCafferty and Michael J. Long and grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts. He attended Northampton High School, the entrepreneurship program at Inventive Labs, and Greenfield Community College.
Devin was a light, a joy, an adventure to be around. His sensitivity and empathy made him a caring and loyal son, brother and friend. His playfulness made him fun. Devin’s early interests were baseball, lacrosse and snowboarding. He enjoyed a wide range of music, listening to the same stuff as his friends but also somehow knowing all the lyrics to classic rock songs. He became an entrepreneur at an early age, buying and selling sneakers and vintage clothes online. Devin taught us all about bitcoin, and was making wise investment decisions at age 16. His creativity in the kitchen produced baked treats made from any ingredients he happened to find in the cabinets. As a child, Devin loved to be read to for hours at a time and he became a storyteller, most recently writing long stories in texts that he sent to friends.
Devin began experiencing signs of mental illness in middle school. He faced his illness bravely, battling severe depression and frightening episodes of psychosis. Treatment was never fully and lastingly effective. He died of an overdose.
With Devin’s death, he leaves his brother and friend Ryan, loving parents Gerry and Mike, his uncles and aunt, Stephen and Keith McCafferty and Eileen O’Connor, cousins Reggie and Florence, and many beloved friends. His grandparents, Charles and Helen McCafferty and Weldon and Catherine Long, pre-deceased Devin and they are very much with us in spirit.
There will be an online celebration of Devin’s life on Thursday, July 2 at 7 pm. To obtain the link for the memorial, please provide your email address at https://tinyurl.com/celebrateDML. A graveside service will take place at St. Mary Cemetery in Northampton on Monday, July 6 at 11 am.
Contributions in memory of Devin may be made to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Cedar Clinic at www.bidmc.org/givingor by check made payable to “Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center” with “Devin Long/Cedar Clinic” on the memo line and mailed to: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Office of Development, 330 Brookline Ave – OV, Boston, MA 02215.