John F. O'Leary, 86
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — John Francis O'Leary, 86, of 24 Wheeler Ave. died Friday, Aug. 13, 2004, at North Adams Regional Hospital.
Born in North Adams on Oct. 12, 1917, a son of Patrick J. and Mary Ellen Pellows O'Leary, he attended schools there.
A decorated Army veteran of World War II, he served as a sergeant with Battery C, 17th Field Artillery Battalion. He participated in the battles of Tunisia, Sicily, Naples, Foggia, Arno, Southern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe, and received the bronze star medal.
Mr. O'Leary was employed at the former Arnold Print Works in Adams for 11 years, retiring in 1982. He had been employed for 35 years at the former Sprague Electric Co. on Brown Street in North Adams, including as a supervisor on the night shift.
He was a longtime communicant of St. Francis' Church in North Adams and a member of Frank R. Stiles Post 125 American Legion in North Adams.
His wife, the former Mary Noela Sorel, whom he married July 29, 1967, in St. Francis' Church, died Nov. 4, 2003.
He leaves a grandniece and her husband, Margaret and Keith Bush, with whom he made his home; a sister, Anne Markarian of Williamstown, seven stepgrandchildren and 13 step-great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by a stepson, Walter O'Dell, and two sisters, Mary Ellen Durant on March 9, 1979, and Margaret Mary Scarbo on Sept. 7, 1991, and a niece, Mary Ellen Scarbo.
FUNERAL NOTICE — The funeral for Mr. O'Leary will be Tuesday at 12:15 at Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams, followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial celebrated at 1 at St. Francis of Assisi Church, North Adams.
Burial will follow in the family plot in Southview Cemetery, North Adams. Calling hours at the funeral home will be Monday from 4 to 7. Memorial donations are suggested to the St. Francis' Church Building Fund or the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department through the funeral home.