John Patrick “Pat” O'Leary
August 26th, 1939 - June 26th, 2024
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Pat's Obituary
John Patrick (“Pat”) O’Leary died from complications due to Parkinson’s at his home in Grand Beach, Michigan on June 26, 2024, surrounded by his wife and sons. He was eighty-four years old.
Pat was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa on August 26, 1939, the second of five brothers, to William and Helen O’Leary. He attended Catholic schools in Fort Dodge, including Corpus Christi, then graduating from St. Edmund’s High School in 1957. He attended St. Benedict’s College (now Benedictine College) in Atchison, Kansas, graduating in 1961, before moving to Detroit to attend law school at the University of Detroit, receiving his juris doctor in 1964. While in law school and before beginning his law career, he was a tour guide at Stroh’s Brewery.
In 1964, on a friend’s birthday, he met Janice Manson; they married in November 1965, settling on the east side of Detroit, where two sons were born, Patrick (1966) and Peter (1968), who were followed by Michael (1971), by which time the family had moved to Grosse Pointe Park. They remained in Grosse Pointe, moving from the Park to the City to the Shores over the course of the next four decades.
During this time, Pat built his career as a lawyer, at which he excelled. At Plunkett & Cooney, he gained valuable experience as a trial attorney. Among its clients at this time was Coca-Cola, which was on the receiving end of numerous “exploding bottle” lawsuits (in which people would seek damages because a bottle of Coke had spontaneously exploded, according to their allegation). These cases among others gave him significant experience in the courtroom and brought him into contact with physicians, whose testimony would be used in such cases. Before long, he shifted his focus to medical malpractice cases, in which he defended doctors who were being sued, as well as hospitals.
After twenty-seven years at Plunkett & Cooney, along with his brother Tom, Pat formed a law firm of his own, O’Leary, O’Leary, Jacobs, Matson, & Perry, specializing in defense litigation, operating out of Southfield, Michigan.
In his role as an attorney, he flourished. Among Pat’s recognitions, in 1986, he was elected president of the Detroit Bar Association (a one-year term); in 1988, he was elected to the American College of Trial Attorneys; in 1991, he began serving his two-year term as president of the Michigan chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); in 1992, he was elected to the International Academy of Trial Attorneys; in 1996, the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association bestowed its Respected Advocate Award; in 2002, he received the Richard B. Baxter Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the American Board of Trial Advocates; in 2020, the Michigan chapter of ABOTA awarded him the Scully Outstanding Service Award, in recognition of his many years of service to ABOTA by fostering improvement in the ethical and technical standards of practice in the field of advocacy, which was a summa of his work as an attorney.
In 2008 Pat retired from practicing law, moving in 2009 to southwestern Michigan to a house in Grand Beach alongside Lake Michigan, which put him closer to his sons and their families. During retirement, Pat pursued two further avenues. First, he enrolled in the Basic Program, which is a Great Books program, at the Graham School of the University of Chicago. He commuted from Grand Beach to Chicago, where for four years he engaged in deep readings of the classics of philosophy and literature. Around the same time, he began to teach courses in constitutional law, initially for Purdue University-Indiana University Northwest, where he taught undergraduates, and then for programs designed for other retirees interested in lifelong learning, in both South Bend and Michigan City, Indiana, as well as in New Buffalo, Michigan. He was a natural teacher and performer and found great fulfillment in this new role.
Pat had a passion for reading, especially the newspaper—until the end of his life, he read at least five newspapers a day. He likewise had passions for politics, the Catholic Church, and spirited debates, sometimes all at once. He loved to travel, which he did extensively and internationally throughout his life; with Jan, he visited all seven continents. He also enjoyed watching sports, especially the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions.
Pat was deeply devoted to Jan and their marriage, as well as to his family, including his sons and their wives, as well as his four grandchildren. He is survived by Jan, Patrick and Elizabeth (Crowley), Peter and Rebecca Houze, their children Gabriel and Lucian, and Michael and Una Moon, and their children Esther and Cyrus. He was preceded in death by his parents William and Helen, as well as his brothers Edward, James, and William.
Visitation will be held on Friday, July 5, 2024 at Sommerfeld Chapel in New Buffalo, Michigan, beginning at 5 p.m. EDT. A funeral Mass will be said for Pat on Saturday, July 6, 2024 at 11 a.m. EDT at St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church in New Buffalo. He will be buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in New Buffalo.
Donations in Pat’s memory can be made to Benedictine College and to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Pat was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa on August 26, 1939, the second of five brothers, to William and Helen O’Leary. He attended Catholic schools in Fort Dodge, including Corpus Christi, then graduating from St. Edmund’s High School in 1957. He attended St. Benedict’s College (now Benedictine College) in Atchison, Kansas, graduating in 1961, before moving to Detroit to attend law school at the University of Detroit, receiving his juris doctor in 1964. While in law school and before beginning his law career, he was a tour guide at Stroh’s Brewery.
In 1964, on a friend’s birthday, he met Janice Manson; they married in November 1965, settling on the east side of Detroit, where two sons were born, Patrick (1966) and Peter (1968), who were followed by Michael (1971), by which time the family had moved to Grosse Pointe Park. They remained in Grosse Pointe, moving from the Park to the City to the Shores over the course of the next four decades.
During this time, Pat built his career as a lawyer, at which he excelled. At Plunkett & Cooney, he gained valuable experience as a trial attorney. Among its clients at this time was Coca-Cola, which was on the receiving end of numerous “exploding bottle” lawsuits (in which people would seek damages because a bottle of Coke had spontaneously exploded, according to their allegation). These cases among others gave him significant experience in the courtroom and brought him into contact with physicians, whose testimony would be used in such cases. Before long, he shifted his focus to medical malpractice cases, in which he defended doctors who were being sued, as well as hospitals.
After twenty-seven years at Plunkett & Cooney, along with his brother Tom, Pat formed a law firm of his own, O’Leary, O’Leary, Jacobs, Matson, & Perry, specializing in defense litigation, operating out of Southfield, Michigan.
In his role as an attorney, he flourished. Among Pat’s recognitions, in 1986, he was elected president of the Detroit Bar Association (a one-year term); in 1988, he was elected to the American College of Trial Attorneys; in 1991, he began serving his two-year term as president of the Michigan chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA); in 1992, he was elected to the International Academy of Trial Attorneys; in 1996, the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association bestowed its Respected Advocate Award; in 2002, he received the Richard B. Baxter Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the American Board of Trial Advocates; in 2020, the Michigan chapter of ABOTA awarded him the Scully Outstanding Service Award, in recognition of his many years of service to ABOTA by fostering improvement in the ethical and technical standards of practice in the field of advocacy, which was a summa of his work as an attorney.
In 2008 Pat retired from practicing law, moving in 2009 to southwestern Michigan to a house in Grand Beach alongside Lake Michigan, which put him closer to his sons and their families. During retirement, Pat pursued two further avenues. First, he enrolled in the Basic Program, which is a Great Books program, at the Graham School of the University of Chicago. He commuted from Grand Beach to Chicago, where for four years he engaged in deep readings of the classics of philosophy and literature. Around the same time, he began to teach courses in constitutional law, initially for Purdue University-Indiana University Northwest, where he taught undergraduates, and then for programs designed for other retirees interested in lifelong learning, in both South Bend and Michigan City, Indiana, as well as in New Buffalo, Michigan. He was a natural teacher and performer and found great fulfillment in this new role.
Pat had a passion for reading, especially the newspaper—until the end of his life, he read at least five newspapers a day. He likewise had passions for politics, the Catholic Church, and spirited debates, sometimes all at once. He loved to travel, which he did extensively and internationally throughout his life; with Jan, he visited all seven continents. He also enjoyed watching sports, especially the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Lions.
Pat was deeply devoted to Jan and their marriage, as well as to his family, including his sons and their wives, as well as his four grandchildren. He is survived by Jan, Patrick and Elizabeth (Crowley), Peter and Rebecca Houze, their children Gabriel and Lucian, and Michael and Una Moon, and their children Esther and Cyrus. He was preceded in death by his parents William and Helen, as well as his brothers Edward, James, and William.
Visitation will be held on Friday, July 5, 2024 at Sommerfeld Chapel in New Buffalo, Michigan, beginning at 5 p.m. EDT. A funeral Mass will be said for Pat on Saturday, July 6, 2024 at 11 a.m. EDT at St. Mary’s of the Lake Catholic Church in New Buffalo. He will be buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in New Buffalo.
Donations in Pat’s memory can be made to Benedictine College and to Alcoholics Anonymous.
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Additional Visitation Information
Rosary @ 7:45pm