Harry J. O’Rourke

Harry J. O’Rourke, who grew up in Wainscott and East Hampton Village and had a successful insurance career after serving in the Marine Corps, died on Sept. 29 at Kettering Hospital in Ohio after a short illness. He was 84 and lived in Centerville, Ohio.

Mr. O’Rourke was the son of Harry O’Rourke and the former Margaret Daly, born in Plainfield, N.J., on Nov. 5, 1930. He first attended the Wainscott School. The family moved to East Hampton Village a short time after the 1938 Hurricane swept across Long Island.

While at East Hampton High School, he was a four-year varsity football player and led the county in scoring in his senior year before going on to attend Staunton Military Academy in Virginia and then Miami University in Ohio. He was named to the East Hampton High School Hall of Fame in 2013.

While living in East Hampton, Mr. O’Rourke worked during summers as a lifeguard at the Maidstone Club. He married the former Madeline Ann Brown, whom he met at Miami University, on Feb. 25, 1955, shortly before leaving for officer’s training camp.

After training at Camp Pendleton in California, he served as an officer in the Marine Corps, stationed in Okinawa. He worked for Procter and Gamble for a time before going into insurance with American United Life in Ohio. He went on to earn numerous awards during his professional career and to be president of the Dayton Association of Life Underwriters, his family said.

In Ohio, Mr. O’Rourke also was involved with  United Way, the University of Dayton athletic program, Archbishop Alter High School, and the Walnut Grove Country Club. He was described by his family as a curious man who had a memorable and infectious laugh. He was a golfer, fisherman, skier, and enjoyed travel, often returning to East Hampton to see his extended family and old friends.

His wife died in 1985, and he is survived by their children, Lynn O. Hayes of Scottsdale, Ariz., Michael O’Rourke and Timothy O’Rourke of Denver, Sharon O. Wood of Water Mill, and Daniel O’Rourke of Bellbrook, Ohio. Louise Hoover of Centerville, Ohio, his companion of 20 years, also survives, as does a sister, Ann Schiavoni of Sag Harbor, and 10 grandchildren. A brother, William O’Rourke, and a sister, Margaret Kalish, died before him.

A funeral Mass was said for him on Oct. 3 at St. Leonard’s Chapel in Centerville, followed by burial in the Centerville Cemetery.

Memorial donations have been suggested to the Wounded Warrior Project at woundedwarriorproject.org or to St. Leonard’s Ministries, 8100 Cylo Road, Centerville, Ohio 45458.