James Walter O'Kelley's Obituary
James Walter O'Kelley, Jr., age 92, of Oak Brook, Illinois. Beloved husband of Patricia O'Kelley, nee Ferrante; loving father of Meg (David) Heinz, Jim III (Meghan) O'Kelley, Tricia O'Kelley, and the late Fritz Otto Von Bismarck O'Kelley; proud grandfather of Kate, Kelly, and the late Cooper Heinz, Kevin, Patrick and Jane O'Kelley, and Avery and Charlie Rosenblatt; older brother of the late Pat and Mike; uncle of many nieces and nephews.
Jim was born in Joplin, Missouri, but moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, with his family when he was 14. It was there in high school where his new band of brothers gave him the moniker Fabulous Jim. At the University of Florida, Fabulous Jim fell in with the "true gentlemen" of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He eventually became president of the chapter.
After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, Jim entered the Air Force as a lieutenant, serving as a nuclear weapons project officer, and receiving a commendation medal. From the Air Force, he went to Avco Corporation in Boston, where he worked on the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missile reentry systems program and, more important, fell in love with his executive assistant, Patricia. They moved their young family to the Chicago area in 1972, when Jim took a job at Argonne National Laboratory.
Jim was active with the Indian Guides and Indian Princesses, serving as Federation Chief and then launching the Trail Blazers program at the Rich Port YMCA, for which he was recognized as the Y's man of the year.
Jim earned his MBA from the University of Chicago and retired from Argonne as the Chief Financial Officer at the age of 70. For the past 22 years, Jim split his time between Chicago and his forever home, St. Petersburg.
Jim was an avid cyclist, golfer, world traveler (tagging along with his former executive assistant turned executive), and TV watcher. He never missed Masterpiece Theater but was also quite fond of Hallmark Mysteries. His family and numerous La-Z-Boy recliners will miss him.
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