Arthur J. O'Grady

Arthur J. O’Grady, 85, of Arlington Heights was born July 9, 1930 to the late Arthur J. and Mathilda (nee Gendron) O’Grady and passed away Sept. 26, 2015. Art was the beloved husband of 60 years of Patricia (nee Skepnek); loving father of Eileen (Stephen) Daday, Margaret “Peggy” (Dennis) Leetzow, Julianne, Maureen (John) Vaughn, Daniel (Lara) O’Grady, Mary-Alice (Tom) Sullivan, David (Kim) O’Grady and the late Sheila; cherished grandfather of 25 and great-grandfather of 2. He and his wife, Pat, moved to Arlington Heights in 1957 and would live there for 30 years, raising their seven children before moving to Barrington Hills, Huntley and back to Arlington Heights. Art grew up in the Austin neighborhood in Chicago’s far west side, graduating from St. Ignatius High School and Loyola University in 1952 with a degree in accounting. However, it was the dawn of the computer age, which became his passion. His first job was with Remington Rand, working with its original mainframe computer, before working at Chicago Tabulating Service, learning about its customer-based software. Art then moved to IBM during its revolutionary System/360 era, before moving to International Minerals & Chemicals Corporation, serving as operations manager. It was during his years with IMC, that Art worked at night, partnering with former Mercantile Exchange president, John Geldermann, to develop software that automated bookkeeping for commodities firms, replacing the tradition of bookkeepers entering trades by hand, through the night, to prepare for the opening of the next day’s market. They launched Computer Information Service (CIS) in 1967 that provided back office reports --- by computer --- for commodities and securities firms, and was the first company to develop clearinghouse software for the Chicago Board Options and Chicago Stock exchanges. They were the only computer service bureau providing these services to companies for their first 10 years, and ultimately had offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. They sold CIS to Automated Data Processing, or ADP, in 1983. The sale allowed Art to retire at the young age of 53, but he would become involved in another pioneering venture: craft beer. In 1996, Art and his sons, Daniel and David, opened O’Grady’s Brewery & Pub in Arlington Heights, which developed a variety of craft beers, all named around Chicago icons, and set in a family-style restaurant that offered a full menu. They ran the pub together for five years, drawing customers from throughout the Northwest suburbs, before closing it in 2001.Visitation will be Wed., Sept. 30, 2015 from 3-9 p.m. at Lauterburg & Oehler Funeral Home, 2000 E. Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights. Prayers will be said Thursday, Oct. 1 at 8:45 a.m. and proceed to Our Lady of the Wayside Church, 440 S. Mitchell St. Arlington Heights for funeral mass at 9:30 a.m.. Interment will be in St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Save The Children Foundation, 501 Kings Highway East, Fairfield, CT 06825 appreciated.