James W. O'Hara

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O'Hara, James W. of Eden Prairie was born on March 10, 1922 and died on July 17, 2021, at the age of 99. Survived by his wife of 72 yrs, Marjorie Kellogg O'Hara; daughters Kathy Geragi (Gary), Marjorie Rackliffe (John), Carolyn Liptak (Ron), Mary Jo O'Hara (Tim Hemken), and Alice O'Hara (Kevin Walker); grandchildren: Katie (Len), Rebecca (Brent), Zachary (Shannon), Chris (Caitlin), Ann, Matt (Missy), Meghan, Laura, Ellie, Margaret, Angela (Martin), and Harriet, and many great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by daughter Ann, brother John, sister Angela, and parents Angela and James O'Hara. Jay deeply loved his family and spent his life providing and caring for them. Jay was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but because of the Depression moved with his family to Chicago. There he grew up in an apartment overlooking Loyola University. He attended both its academy and its college. When WWII erupted, he volunteered for the navy and served as an officer in the Pacific Theatre captaining a ship that transported officers in command. After he returned from the war, he started at Loyola Law school where he met and married Marge, the only woman in his law school class. Jay decided business was his forte, and eventually moved to Minnesota where he was first a vice president of Minnesota Paints, which later became Valspar, and then started Conklin Company, which grew to be an international corporation, and served as its Chief Executive Officer. After retiring, Jay volunteered full-time with SCORE, Senior Corps of Retired Executives, serving as president for a period of time. He gave freely of his expertise for over 30 years to people needing help starting their own businesses. In addition to his career, Jay enjoyed exercising daily at the YMCA and later at Flagship; golfing with his buddies; going to the Guthrie Theater; and attending concerts of the Minnesota Orchestra. He also loved playing poker with his friends from St. Thomas the Apostle and meeting his "Couples Group'' from his early days in Chicago. Jay made many wonderful friends everywhere he went, and he dearly loved them all. He will be sorely missed by all of us who loved him. Jay's Catholic faith and belief in God guided his life, and he prayed the rosary daily. We are sure that he is now with God in heaven. Services to celebrate his life will be held at Pax Christi Catholic Community, 12100 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie, Friday August 6th at 11:00a.m. with visitation held one hour prior. The service will also be live streamed. To view live, click "Live Stream" button: paxchristi.com/…. To view afterwards, go to: paxchristi.com/… Washburn-McReavy.com Edina Chapel   952-920-3996

Published on July 25, 2021