Jack Warren O'Grady was born on 22 November 1922 in Indianapolis, Marion Co., IN. He married
, about 1950. Jack Warren O'Grady died on 1 June 2003 in Glenview, Cook Co., IL,
OBITUARY - Chicago Sun-Times; Chicago, Illinois; Tuesday, June 3, 2003
O'Grady, Jack W. age 80, of Glenview, Marine Corp Veteran, WWII, wonderful husband of Carol O'Grady, caring father of Maureen (Michael) Morelli, J. Shannon, Thomas C. (Shelley) and John Daniel (Kyle) O'Grady, loving grandfather of Mikey, Katie, Caroline, Danny, William and Jack. Visitation Tuesday, 2 to 9 p.m. at Donnellan Family Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd., at Old Orchard Road, Skokie. Funeral Mass Wednesday, 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, 1775 Grove St., Glenview. Interment All Saints Cemetery. Funeral info., 847-675-1990 Visit Guest Book at www.suntimes.com
OBITUARY - Northbrook Star; Northbrook, Illinois; Thursday, July 3, 2003
Jack W. O'Grady, 80, of Glenview, advertising industry icon, gallery owner, award-winning photographer and longtime Loyola Academy hockey coach, died June 1 in Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview.
Mr. O'Grady was born Nov. 22, 1922 in Indianapolis, Ind. He was raised in Chicago and served in the U.S. Marines during World War II.
He was employed at Feldkamp-Malloy studios until 1957 when he opened his own advertising art and photography studio. His advertising art studio and sales promotion agency evolved over 50 years to win national acclaim whose clients included United Airlines, Zenith, Kraft Foods, Sears, Miller Brewing, Raleigh Belair, Royal Crown Cola and many other Fortune 500 companies.
Mr. O'Grady was a b big believer in the youth of America, and gave many young artists and designers their first break in the advertising business. Throughout his career, hundreds of designers, illustrators, photographers and production artists were employed in his showcase offices at 333 N. Michigan Ave.
Mr. O'Grady photographed annual campaigns for United Airlines, Hertz Rent-a-Car, the MGM Grand hotel, R.R. Donnelley & Sons and other blue-chip clients, traveling around the world, which he loved. He photographed famous people from all over, and took what turned out to be the last portrait of Mayor Richard J. Daley.
In 1976, he launched O'Grady Galleries with the Chicago Tribune Bicentennial Art Collection, commissioning top American artists to paint scenes from America's history. The Tribune Sunday magazine ran features on the artists and historical aspects of the paintings weekly. The galleries, which later included an additional Scottsdale, Arizona location, represented the work of notable artists including Georgia O'Keeffe and Norman Rockwell.
In 1973, with the future of Loyola Academy's hockey program uncertain, Mr. O'Grady volunteered to become head coach. He supported the team financially, and became the architect of its present-day program.
Mr. O'Grady also founded the Loyola Academy Thanksgiving Invitational Hockey Tournament, now the largest high school Thanksgiving hockey tournament in the nation. He coached the team for nine years and was recently inducted into Loyola Academy's Athletic Hall of Fame.
He was a longtime member of Chicago's Tavern Club, the Park Ridge Country Club and the Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northbrook, where he enjoyed playing golf and entertaining family and friends.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Caroline; two daughters, Maureen (Michael Morelli) and Shannon; two sons, Tom (Shelley) and Dan (Kyle); and six grandchildren, Mike Morelli, Katie, Caroline, Danny, Will and Jack O'Grady.
A Requiem Mass was celebrated June 4 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Glenview. Burial was in All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines.
OBITUARY - Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago, Illinois; Wednesday, July 9, 2003:
Jack W. O'Grady, gallery owner, photographer
Jack W. O'Grady's advertising art studio and sales promotion agency was one of the best-known in the country, with a client list that included United Airlines, Kraft Foods, Sears, Zenith, Miller Brewing, Royal Crown Cola and many other Fortune 500 companies.
He also was an art gallery owner, a prominent photographer and the longtime hockey coach at Loyola Academy in Wilmette.
Mr. O'Grady, 80, died June 1 at Glenbrook Hospital, Glenview, after suffering a heart attack.
He was brought up in Chicago by his paternal grandparents after his mother died while he was a baby. He graduated from Amundsen High School, then enlisted in the Marines just after the outbreak of World War II.
After the war Mr. O'Grady studied design and illustration under the GI Bill at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He also drove a taxi and worked for an art studio as a graphic designer and salesman.
In 1957, he opened his own advertising art studio, with the Hertz annual report as his first major job. Hiring a photographer, he went to Florida to shoot Hertz facilities. When he found himself telling the photographer what to do, he finally asked, "How much is that camera?"
"When I came back, I bought a camera," he said in a 1977 interview with the Chicago Sun-Times' Midwest magazine.
A month later, Hertz sent him around the country photographing national parks and major cities for a series of 20 maps. After six weeks, he ended up with 1,600 photos, and his photography career was born.
Mr. O'Grady's talent with a camera took him around the world, and famous people were among his subjects. He made the last portrait of Mayor Richard J. Daley.
His headquarters at 333 N. Michigan housed a staff of about 50. It featured offices decorated as a general country store, an Indian tepee, a Roman bath, a train station and other themes.
"My dad felt it helped the artists to be more creative," said his daughter, Maureen Morelli, who worked for him in sales for 12 years. "Plus it was really fun."
In 1976, he launched O'Grady Galleries with a collection of bicentennial art, commissioning paintings of scenes from America's history. The galleries, which later added a location in Scottsdale, Ariz., presented the work of such painters as Georgia O'Keeffe, Fritz Scholder, Bernie Fuchs and Norman Rockwell.
At Loyola Academy, Mr. O'Grady took over a troubled hockey program in 1973, serving as head coach and supporting the team financially.
He was a longtime member of the Tavern Club, the Park Ridge Country Club and the Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northbrook.
Mr. O'Grady was a resident of Park Ridge for 23 years, and also lived in Winnetka, Northfield, on Chicago's North Side and in Northfield before moving to Glenview about seven years ago.
"He was extremely charismatic, very outgoing and boisterous," said his son, Tom. "People really remembered him because of his personality. He was a true salesman."
Other survivors include his wife of 53 years, Caroline; two other sons, Shannon and Dan, and six grandchildren.
Services have been held.
He was buried in June 2003 in All Saints Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum, Des Plaines, Cook Co., IL.