John was my "boss" at Display Data from 1984 - 1991.  He was always fair and considerate and helped in my position as Regional Installation Manager of the West.  Unfortunately I never spoke to him after 1991 when my position was lost due to circumstances not under my control.   I just found out he was gone yesterday....and I am sorry for your loss .   Mike Nemec

I worked for John at Display Data.  I remember a meeting in San Clemente CA.  It was more of a beach meeting with beverages uncommon to meetings.  He was a great boss and I have never forgotten him.

Karen Forsyth Slater

I met John 25 Yeats ago, when I met Tom.
He was a character then, and never changed. A little ditzy just like me!
Wanda and John were our best friends, and I'll miss all the traditions we established over the Yeats. Wanda will now be a snowbird and can visit us any time in Florida.
His picture, with the golf group sits in our living room so he will always be with us. We are so lucky to have that picture from our good-bye party of all our friends.
John...you will be missed but never forgotten. Arlene

On one of our Shenvallee golf trips I roomed with John. Knowing he snored, I decided to get to sleep ahead of him.  Later I heard him snoring loudly. As I looked over to his bed, I did not seem him. Maybe I was dreaming. It happened again. Again I got up, looked around and there he was.... sleeping outside on the balcony in a chair with the doors CLOSED! I laughed and thought this will be an amazing story, and none of the other golfers would doubt it.

Once upon a time, many years ago, John O'Hare and I were young men together. John was the Business manager for D. L. Claiborne Buick and Greenbrier Toyota in Atlanta and shortly after I graduated college and he had married Wanda, he hired me and my true education began. Being ever the liberal thinker, his lesson number one was: get a haircut and cut off the beard. Lesson two was that we worked long and we worked hard. 
But truly, John taught me a lot and from the dealership, I followed him into the computer business at Display Data Corporation a company that provided turnkey systems to manage all auto dealer departments. It was also here that John met Tom Beecroft. John was not a man who just made friends; John made friends for life. John rose to be a vice-president before eventually starting his own business. Auto Careers placed management and executive level auto dealer personnel. John, through hard work and tenacity, had made himself an expert in the retail automotive field. He was very proud of this.
When we were young men and not the fully formed and near-perfect gentlemen you have come to know, we did as young men sometimes do; we got into some mischief from time to time. I remember after one particular Saturday at work we stopped for a cold refreshing beverage. As one thing led to another and track of time was lost, we found ourselves showing up at my house at 2 in the morning with steaks and fixings to cook out. I had told John that Marcia, my wife, never got mad. As John was calling Wanda to invite her to the festivities, I stood corrected. As I said, John taught me a lot.
We often joked about it being amazing that we were still married. But you all know Wanda and know the answer; John was blessed to have a wonderfully understanding and joyful lady with whom to raise a family and, most importantly, they loved each other very much.
John loved fishing so much, he would even include me, although I would frustrate him as he would watch my line with the exclamation, “pull, you've got one!” After my delayed reaction, a physical inspection of my bait-less hook would confirm his observation. 
We once hired a charter boat with two others for deep sea fishing in Bermuda. An experienced race boat driver, an accomplished sail boat owner, John, the experience fisherman, and me, indoors-man extraordinaire. The seas were turbulent that day and the boat was rocked back and forth with waves higher than the cabin. It was rough. Shortly after catching our bait for the day, the other three racked with nausea made their way into bunks in the cabin. I bravely remained above, hit the cooler and drained it of half a can of beer before closing my eyes and praying that the crew would return us early. Despite that fun, I found that I did not like deep sea fishing. As I said, John taught me a lot. 
But, great fisherman have great fish stories and John had the very best. He would have me double over with laughter with the tale as to how he “hooked” Wanda a second time, using a worm this time. I wish I could hear that story again.
John, as you know, also loved to play golf. When John addressed the ball on the tee, swung back and then forward like a whirling-dervish with both feet leaving the ground, you knew two things were about to happen: 1. John was going to, in his words, “knock the piss out of that ball” and 2. He would have no idea where it had gone. You also knew that he enjoyed laughing and was fun to be around. John enjoyed everyone from all walks of life and an encounter with him was always, “Hail fellow, well met”.
John was a self-made man and a life-time learner. He was an avid reader of both fiction and non-fiction and kept himself well-informed. He was a history buff who especially enjoyed the revolutionary war period and all things to do with the founding of our country. A couple of weeks ago, he was excited to find a book about Aaron Burr in my home and looked forward to learning about one of the founding fathers about whom he did not know enough. I wish I could have received a report back.
But John loved his country and he loved his God. He had a strong sense of right and wrong and he never wavered in expressing them and passing them on to the family that he loved. He possessed a great faith in his future in the life after this and will be rewarded to hear from the ultimate master “Well done, my good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!”
Eternal rest grant unto my good friend, O Lord, let perpetual light shine upon him and may he rest in peace. 
John is the best friend I have ever had. I miss him every day and will do so forever. Surely, others will make me laugh, only never as hard or ever as long.

God knows he broke the mold after creating John.  A truer friend I will never have again.  He is missed.

Shenvalee Golf over the years:
by Danny Dregier

We had many good times at
Shenvallee and believe it or
not we made it without
hurting ourselves. I'll never
forget John and Paul one
afternoon just being
themselves. Pure fun!

RHETT BUTLER
by Fran Pilson

John is an all around great
guy! He is a funny, sweet
southern gentleman. I love
his stories, his laugh, his
smile, his hugs. I love the
way he loves being with
Wanda.
I absolutely love his
cooking! He spent so much
time getting our Christmas
Brunch together with Bruce
last year and it was the very
best. Wanda said he worried
and lost sleep over that
event.
I remember John taking me
aside at one of the Coakley's
movie nights wanting to
know how I was feeling and
asking me all kinds of
questions about my health
and what the doctors were
doing. So sweet...

Kathy White: On one of John and
Wanda's very first dates. He
wanted to impress her with
his fishing skills by
demonstrating how to cast
the line of his fishing rod.
Wanda was standing behind John, and he managed to hook her lower lip by accident.  As if that
wasn't bad enough, the
worm was still dangling from
the hook. As you know,
charmer that he is, he got
her to marry him anyhow.

Rob White: John's laugh is legendary.
It starts out with a big
chuckle and ends with a
sigh, like a balloon letting air
out.
He is in the top 5 people you
want to play golf with.
Always fun and funny just
being himself.

By Paul Rudell: Long story short, John managed to hit a golf ball into homes two neighborhoods away from the golf course in Florida. A mighty swing, and The ball
became invisible to us.
We listened and a
distant whack-whack-whack,
was the report we heard.
John looked me in the eye
with a very serious face and
said, “I bet the folks living in
those houses thought they
were safe from golfers until
now.”
We busted out laughing and
he dropped another ball. We
played the rest of the round
giggling about the surprised
neighborhood..

RUG CUTTER
by Betsy Coakley

I loved to watch John
dance. He and Wanda could
really “cut a rug.”

BUBBA O'HARE
John White
John comes out of his shoes
when he hits a golf ball. He
says to me "Can you take a
look at my swing." I say
"Yeah, go ahead." He hits
the cover off the ball and
spins like a top. I say "John,
you have to hold still after
you hit." He said "I'm not
holding still?" I said "No,
you're coming out of your
shoes." He says, "Ok, watch
me now." He hits the ball
250 yards, spins around like
the girl in the Exorcist, and
says "how about now?" I say
"Much better." Wanda rolls
her eyes...

WOLFGANG PUCK
by Lacy Talbott
Just thinking about John this
evening and remembering
the GREAT lunch he
prepared and served to the
girls last Christmas. He put
so much effort into it as
usual, spending hours just
finding the perfect recipes.
Wanda was smart catching a
great chef. And he was
smart catching someone who
likes to clean. Well, I hope
she does...

FISH & GAFF
by Danny White
My first memories of John go
back to when we first met
them, through our kids I
believe. He and Wanda lived
in a town house in Mays
Chapel, down the street from
where they currently live.
They would invite us over for
dinner from time to time and
we loved it. John loves to
eat, but he also loves to
grill. He would put about
half of a cow on the grill and
we'd have adult beverages
waiting to see if the flames
would necessitate a visit
from the fire department.
They never did and we got to
enjoy some great steak.
Eventually he became part
of our gang and started
playing golf with us.
However, that caused him to
reduce his fishing time. I
think he really prefers
fishing. I took him out
fishing once on the Double
Eagle. We never had a bite,
but had a great time.
He explained to me the
reason fishing is better than
“gaf”, as he calls it is: “In
gaf, it's ALWAYS your fault if
something goes wrong. In
fishing, it never is.
If the fish aren't biting, it is
not your fault – either it is
too early in the day, too late,
the water is too clear, too
murky, something is wrong
with the bait, the speed of
the boat, too early in the
season, too late, the fish
moved to a deeper/shallower
spot, they have been overfished,
their baitfish have
moved, etc., etc. It is NEVER
your fault".

by Mickey Talbott
Some might know that John
is called ”Butch” by his
family. I knew that when I
was mining my own business
reading a book about World
War II aviation.
I got to one of the chapters
and it was all about Butch
O'Hare did this and Butch
O'Hare did that. It ends up
our John, as well as that
little airport north of
Chicago, is named after this
WWII hero. Quite an honor
both ways.
On the golf swing issue: I
recall presenting John with a
pair of golf shoes with 2¼
inch drywall screws in place
of the spikes. I know it was
2¼ inch because I had to go
out and buy them. The
longest screws I had were 1
1/4 inch. It was clear to
me that that length was not
going to fix the problem...

Wanda, 
Not a day goes by without our thinking and talking about John.  I wish I could turn back the clock so I could have had one more day with him.  He is in our hearts forever.  What a sweet, loving and special friend he was to all of us.  We are here for you, J.J. and Brian.
Love, Fran

Remembering one other story about "John the Cook"......we had 8 guys on a golf trip to Virginia. John offered to cook breakfast. In 30 minutes or so he had a Southern Feast on the table. It only took Paul Rudell 3 hours to clean up the kitchen afterwards. That was our John!~ One of a kind and VERY special!~Love, Dave and betsy Coakley

My family and I are so sorry to hear about your loss and we want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.

Wanda and family, we are very sorry to miss the service on Nov 30th. We will be visiting Heather and family in Austin.

The Bancroft's

So very sorry to learn of John's passing. We lost one of the good guys, John always greeted everyone with a friendly smile and was always there with a helping hand when needed,

Ken and Paulette Bancroft

We are so sorry for your loss, Wanda. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

I have such wonderful memories of John and Family. Thank you for caring for our daughter. I loved the pictures that you posted of the family. God Bless.

Offering our deepest condolences to the family. May God grant you strength and courage as you face the coming days.   (Psalm 83:18)

Wanda - Allen and I are very sorry for your loss.  Our thoughts are with you and your familly.  R Kasten

Wanda, you know better than any of us what a fine man John was...and how he suffered.  We feel privileged to have known him and to have received his great warmth and kindness over the years.  Our faith tells us he is free at last...but the loss of such a great man is too much for words.  May you feel the love from those who cared about him as you grieve.  Mark and Ellen send love as well.  Annette and Lou

Dear Brian and family, 
Was so sorry to hear about your loss.know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.Donna (aunt Donna) Mccorkle .

Butch, I can't tell you how very many people you touched during your life nor how many smiles you brought to all of us.  You are one person I can truthfully say I never heard a bad word spoken about as everyone loved you as a friend, fellow classmate and teammate.  You will be greatly missed and always remembered especially by those whose hearts you touched during your short time here sharing your laughter.  I am so proud to have known you and for being able to share so many crazy times with you...I will never forget you being Charlie Brown during Amateur Night at College Street School.   You left them rolling in the aisles!!  My most heartfelt wishes to your family and sincere sympathy for their sudden loss.  You left us all much too soon!!

So sorry for your loss.  Mr. John was always so friendly, funny, and just an all around great man.  You all are in our thoughts and prayers.

Dear Wanda and family, John and I were so sorry to hear of your loss.  We will always remember John with the beautiful smile that he always had on his face.

Dear Wanda, Brian, JJ, and Colleen,

Lindsay and I are so deeply saddened that we cannot be there with you in GA at this time of sadness. We will always remember Papa and forever think of that smile, enthusiasm, wit, and warmth.  We miss him already, the patriarch of the MD O'Hare branch was a great guy.

Love always,

Heather and Lindsay

OK...I can attest to John hitting a hole in one at Hogg's Neck Golf Course a few years ago. I also spent several hours with John in a small boat in Virginia and watched him catch 10 fish while I caught zero.. One of his many Gifts.  John also loved to cook. He made the rest of us husbands look like the total amateurs that we are when he orchestrated  the annual brunch for our special ladies this past Christmas, He set the bar well beyond us mortals. One of a kind. We are blessed to have had  had him in our lives .

Wanda and family, We are sorrowing with you in the untimely death of John. He was a unique person and very friendly to everyone he met. He was a special person. "May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means" (II Thessalonians 3:16). We love you and are praying for you.
Charles & Grace Nunnally

OBITUARY

John Joseph O'Hare Sr.

January 10, 1946 – November 17, 2014

Lemmon Funeral Home of Dulaney Valley Inc.

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