James A. O’Leary, of West Roxbury, formerly of Fairhill, Co. Cork, Ireland passed away on April 20, 2025. Beloved husband of the late Brigid “Bridie” (Condon). Devoted father of Maureen E. Johnson and her husband Carl of Foxboro, James T. O’Leary and his wife Catherine of West Roxbury, Brian W. O’Leary and his wife Karen of Chicago, and Katie A. Degnan and her husband Richard of West Roxbury. Son of the late Timothy and Mary (Ryan) O’Leary of Cork, Ireland. Dear brother of Patrick O’Leary and his wife Eileen of London, the late Noel, Arthur, Timothy, Michael, Kathleen, and Finbar O’Leary. Loving grandfather of Erin, Brendan, and Deirdre Johnson, Jimmy, and Joey O’Leary. Longtime companion of Dorothy “Dot” Valenti of West Roxbury. Also survived by many nieces and nephews.
Jim arrived in Boston in July 1956 and stayed with his cousins, Dan and Anne O’Connell, in Roslindale, MA. While attending the Irish dances on Dudley St, Jim met the love of his life, Bridie, and they married in August 1962. Jim and Bridie made their home in West Roxbury in 1970 with their four children and stayed for the next 55 years.
Jim was very active in Holy Name Parish and School and was the President of the Holy Name Irish American Association for 16 years. All four of his children and his grandsons, Jimmy and Joey, attended Holy Name. When not at Holy Name, Jim and Bridie could be found out dancing at any one of the local Irish dances with their large circle of friends and if no dance could be found, you would find them at a friend’s house singing, playing cards and having a great time.
Jim loved to travel and going back home to Ireland to see his family, especially his favorite and only sister Kathleen.
But, Jim’s favorite thing to do was to spend time with his five grandchildren. You could always find him at a hockey or baseball game, school event or music concert.
He was a member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart (PTAA) commonly known as a Pioneer.
Jim will be deeply missed by his family, his friends and all those that were blessed to cross his path.
Funeral from the William J. Gormley Funeral Home, 2055 Centre St., West Roxbury, on Wednesday, April 30th at 10:00am. Followed by a Funeral Mass in Holy Name Church, 1689 Centre St. West Roxbury at 11:00am. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery, West Roxbury. Visiting Hours Tuesday, April 29th from 3:00pm to 7:00pm in the Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Jim may be made to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, 13770 Noel Rd., Suite 801889, Dallas, TX 75380 or www.komen.org.