The O’Shea Funds

St. Patrick’s Day was an occasion for celebration in the O’Shea house, where guests, Irish or not, were known to belt out To-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral and MacNamara’s Band and head home full of Irish stew and green beer. This, from an otherwise serious banker and his school teacher wife.

“My grandparents emigrated from Ireland and with a name like ‘O’Shea,’ our Irish heritage was a proud part of my parents’ lives,” said Molly Davis, daughter of the late John and Kathy O’Shea. Supporting their community was also, she said, part of her parents’ lives.

“In the early years of our family, my parents sacrificed to set up a trust to help put us through college, but also, because they wanted their lives to mean something beyond their deaths.  They told us in our teen years of the legacy they were establishing,” she said. Davis is one of four daughters, who also include Katie, Erin, and Bridget.

The O’Shea’s little known legacy for Marion was established in the spirit of Saint Patrick, “Sufficient for me is that honor which is not seen of men but is felt in the heart.”

Kathy passed in 2012 after a 16-year battle with kidney cancer. When his dance partner of 44 years took her final bow, John preserved her memory by creating the Kathleen E. O’Shea Fund at Marion Community Foundation, which annually awards grants in support of live theater and dance performances in Marion. The fund received gifts from numerous friends and family all across the country and continues to grow and support the performing arts Kathy so dearly loved.

“My parents loved performances at the Marion Palace Theatre and wanted to see it continue,” said Davis. “My mom spoke of funding dance and drama classes for children in Marion who could not afford them.  Her experience was growing up in Marion in a family that struggled to make ends meet, and dance and art were not in the budget.  She would like others to experience the magic of dance and the escape of live performance.”

Born in New Jersey, Kathy’s family moved to Marion, early in her life when her father took a job with the Erie Railroad in the 1940s.  She grew up on Homer Street, attended St. Mary’s Elementary and Marion Catholic High School, and earned college degrees from Ohio Dominican and Ohio State universities.  She enjoyed art, dance, and theater from an early age.  She was a special education teacher and choreographed high school show choirs and musicals.  After she retired, she spent time in both Marion and New Port Richey, Florida, teaching clogging classes, directing plays, and playing tennis.  Her passion for teaching continued on, tutoring English as a second language at the library. 

What Davis most remembers about her mother was her love of dance and choreography. “At home, I would watch her with a model of the stage and the dancers, planning their moves; then, on summer mornings, I would go along to practice and sit in the dark theater, watching her show the students all the dance moves she had in store for them.  She was truly in her happy place,” she said. “Even in the months before her death, I brought my children along to watch her teach a clogging class to adults so they could have a taste of their grandmother in all her glory.”

“The people in the Gulf Harbors (Florida) community surely miss that lovely couple,” said friend Don Everly. “Kathy worked with and made stars out of many of the residents living here.” 

Two years ago, when John passed, a gift from his estate substantially increased Kathy’s fund, and created two more – a scholarship and an unrestricted community fund – ensuring that the O’Shea legacy will not be forgotten.

“My dad would say you put your money in what you believe in,” said Davis. “And they believed in the communities in which they lived, education, and the arts.”

The O’Sheas established funds with foundations in both Marion and Coshocton, Ohio, where they also lived.  They invested in Catholic educational institutions —  Xavier and Ohio Dominican universities — and in medical programs at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and The Cleveland Clinic. 

The John & Kathleen O’Shea Family Fund, created in 2017 through a gift of stock from John’s estate, is an unrestricted fund, demonstrating his trust in the Board of Directors at Marion Community Foundation, who are charged with using the funds to address unanticipated community needs locally.

John worked for Bank One for more than 30 years, starting as a marketing assistant in Columbus, and rising to the role of bank president in the corporation’s Coshocton, Portsmouth, Cincinnati, and Marion offices.

“He valued hard work,” Davis said, recalling her father’s sage advice as ever present in her life and those of her sisters. “’Live below your means’ and ‘Grow where you’re planted’ were two of his favorite phrases,” she said. “And, everyone knew Dad was someone to turn to when you needed financial advice; his yellow pad was always close by.”

Molly described her father’s passions as faith and family, with a lifelong love of tennis, his banking career, his time in the National Guard, and the 10 years he volunteered preparing taxes at AARP.

“He valued faith, education, family, and thriftiness,” she said. “He took pride in his alma maters, St. Francis High School in Toledo and Xavier University.”

The John D. & Kathleen E. O’Shea Scholarship Fund, created in 2017, provides scholarships to high school seniors and graduates of any Marion County high school with 2.5 GPA or above to attend Xavier University in Cincinnati, John’s alma mater, or Ohio Dominican University, Kathy’s alma mater. 

“While in high school at Marion Catholic, my mom thought her only future would be as a court stenographer because her family did not have the money for her to attend college.  It was only because of a scholarship that she was able to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher,” said Davis. “My parents always expressed to us that they wanted to afford other Marion children that same opportunity.  My dad always told us ‘An education is something no one can ever take away from you.’”

This spring, the first O’Shea Scholarship was awarded – to Marion Harding graduating senior Kwauve Booker, who plans to attend Ohio Dominican and pursue a dual major in business finance and education.

As fully endowed funds at Marion Community Foundation, all three of the O’Shea funds will last forever, making annual awards to support local students like Booker and the causes John and Kathy valued.