“If you come to America and take over the running of the house, I’ll see that he (O’Gorman) has the opportunity to get an education,” she wrote.
When O’Gorman thinks back those many years, he imagines the effect that letter must have had on his mother. “I recognize that my mother sacrificed a lot to do that,” he said.
But because of that move, O’Gorman got the promised education — he majored in accounting at Boston College — and went on to work for NCR. In fact, he was a marketing representative for NCR, working with the team that developed the bar code scanner, so ubiquitous in retail stores today.
That association with NCR, of course, was also the reason O’Gorman eventually came to the Dayton area, settling in Miamisburg in 1976.
But there’s another important angle to this tale of the boy from Ireland. O’Gorman met his wife of 51 years while he was still in Massachusetts. Eileen, who died in 2006, was from Ireland, too.
“I usually tell the story,” O’Gorman said. “We lived 30 miles apart in Ireland but we had to cross 3,000 miles to meet.”
The couple had six children and now have 11 grandchildren.
Though the years and miles have each increased, John still sports a touch of Irish twang.
Over the years, his love of history has placed him in some interesting projects. For the recent Kercher Cabin dedication of the Miamisburg Historical Society, it was O’Gorman who wrote a historical essay.
Three years ago, soon after the death of his wife and looking for something to do, Phil Johnson, then-president of the Historical Society, suggested O’Gorman get involved with work on the Kercher Cabin.
He ended up chairing the fundraising committee, which raised more than $150,000 for the project.
On O’Gorman’s committee were Mayor Dick Church, Lee Hieronymus, Barb Olekas, Laura Leyes Bornhorst, Doug Vost, Rick Young, Bobbye Sweny, Nita Petticrew, Mike Hagan, Rolla Broerman and Phyllis Abney.
A member of Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church, O’Gorman wrote their sesquicentennial history in 2002. “I went in to the pastor and said, ‘you know, I’ve looked around and have not found a history of Our Lady of Good Hope,’ ” O’Gorman said.
“I’m willing to work on it,” he said.
And last year, when the Knights of Columbus Council 4587 celebrated their 50th year, it was O’Gorman who wrote the history. Actually, he updated it: he had written a history for their 25th anniversary, too.
A lover of dance, even a teacher of Irish folk dance, O’Gorman is considered the local “Lord of the Dance.” He and his wife loved to dance.
Now 77 — his birthday is next Wednesday — O’Gorman’s happy to be settled down in Miamisburg. Nowadays, he’s able to regularly visit Ireland. But coming here smacks of the luck of the Irish.
“The opportunities for me would have been very limited,” he said.
Contact this columnist at (937) 696-2080 or williamgschmidt @verizon.net.
About the Author