James "Jim" Arthur Reilly

Jim was born in Cleveland, Ohio on April 26th, 1917 to Arthur James and Frances Kappus Reilly. He was the second oldest of four children who grew up on the East side of Cleveland.

His long life allowed him to experience many unique happenings. He watched Lucky Lindy pilot the Spirit of Saint Louis over Cleveland, saw Balto (the heroic sled dog that delivered diphtheria anti-toxin to Nome in 1925) at the Cleveland zoo, caddied in the US Amature golf tournament for Johnny Goodman, witnessed firsthand several of Jesse Owen’s amazing races and went to Glenville High School in Cleveland with the creators of Superman. His lifelong love of golf also led to him standing directly next to the photographer when the famous picture of Ben Hogan was taken at the 1950 US Open.

After high school Jim became the first in his family to attend college by earning a full academic scholarship to Case Institute of Technology where he studied Chemical Engineering finishing at the top of his class. His first job took him to New Jersey as an engineer with Esso Production Research Company. When called to serve in World War II, he joined the Navy and served as a communication officer primarily on the USS Icefish, a submarine stationed in the South Pacific. While undergoing specialized training for submarine engines at Penn State, he met Lucille “Bobby” Vernon on a blind date, and fell in love. They married after the war and moved to New Jersey where they started their family, which grew to two sons, Thomas V. Reilly, Kenneth J. Reilly and a daughter, Ann Reilly (Harris). Jim attended law school at night at Rutgers University in New Jersey. After a move to Tulsa, Oklahoma to join the legal team in the patent division at Esso Production Research, they completed their family with the addition of Barbara Reilly (Wheat).

A further career move sent the family to Houston, Texas where Jim became the General Counsel for Esso Production Research. Regardless of all the patents he and his team secured for EPR and all the contracts he negotiated on their behalf, he always felt his greatest achievement was being able to spot and hire excellent legal talent. After retiring from Exxon he joined the patent firm of Arnold, White and Durkee and helped their incoming patent attorneys learn the intricacies of securing patents for their clients.

Following his second retirement, Jim moved to Lakeway to be closer to family. He especially enjoyed visiting with his 10 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren and hearing of their accomplishments and exploits.

Throughout his life Jim was a man of great spiritual faith, had a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and shared his beliefs with his entire family and extensive circle of friends. He lost the love of his life to cancer too early but retained her memory by sharing stories of his love and admiration for her character and beauty. In his final years he would mention how much he was looking forward to being reunited with her.

Jim was preceded in death by his beloved wife Bobby, parents, older sister Dorothy, younger brother Tom and grandson Kit. He is survived by his sister Mary, and his children and their spouses: Tom and Sue Reilly, Ken and Barbara Reilly, Ann and Jim Harris and Barbara and Dan Wheat. His grandchildren Lauren McGowan, Katherine Reilly, Devin Reilly, Sara Eaton, Kelly Turner, Robert Harris, Pat Wheat, Reilly Johnson, and Annie Wheat and their families will miss him beyond measure. His great grandchildren James, Nathan and Andrew Eaton, Anna and Bennett Turner, Charlotte and William Harris and Lucy and Henry McGowan will miss his loving presence, gentle way of listening to all their stories, and the twinkle in his eyes. He also followed the life stories of his many nieces and nephews with great curiosity and caring, enjoying their updates and correspondence. His unassuming manner masked a vibrant spirit, compassion, thoughtfulness and keen intellect. He was an incredible and dedicated father, grandfather and great grandfather who enriched the lives of everyone he met.

Our family would also like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the angels at Brookdale in Lakeway and of Brookdale Hospice. They made our father’s life a joy and gave him great comfort. Thanks also to the outreach ministry from Emmaus Catholic Church who kept him connected to his faith with their kind visits over the past several years.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Lake Travis Crisis Ministries.