Leslie "Les" John O'Donoghue

Leslie John O’Donoghue, “Les”, 86, of Orange Park, FL, passed away on December 26, 2012. He was born to Lillian Stewart Moodie O’Donoghue and Henry Leslie O’Donoghue on February 18th, 1926 in Dundee, Scotland and immigrated to the USA as a small child. Les was always a driven individual and started working at a very young age as a bell boy, Western Union delivery boy and newspaper delivery boy to save money for his first car at the age of 13. Following High School in Pontiac, MI, he enlisted in the Army Air Forces during WWII. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college and did so with an Engineering Degree from General Motors Institute in Flint, MI. While working for General Motors, he met and married Marjorie Stroble. Together Les and Marge raised five children, Patty, Kathy, Carol, Mike and George. They lived in Union Lake, MI; Farmington, MI; Tulsa, OK; and London, England, where he was promoted to VP of European Operations for Vickers Corporation and eventually retired at the age of 55. Yet within 10 years was talked out of retirement by his youngest son George and proceeded to purchase the Eagle Snacks franchise from Anheuser Busch in Jacksonville, Fl.. This brought many in the family together to operate the business for several years. He was very active and enjoyed golf. He was a member of the Orange Park Country Club and the Royal Order of Moose in Mandarin. He was health conscious before it became so popular. He was a long distance runner and an exercise junkie. He even played a little hockey at one time. He was preceded in death by his wife Marge and his son Michael John. He is survived by four children, Patricia O’Donoghue (John Thornton), Kathryn Hayman (Ralph), Carol O’Donoghue (Joel Preston), and George O’Donoghue (Nancy). Les has 13 grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. The family will receive friends in the chapel of Broadus-Raines Funeral Home on Saturday, January 5th from 1:00 until 2:00 pm. Funeral services will begin at 2:00 pm officiated by Pastor Charlie Campbell. Interment will follow in Hickory Grove Cemetery. Following the interment, a celebration of Les' life will be held at George's home. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to Alzheimer's Foundation of America. to DONATE ONLINE www.alzfdn.org/ContributetoAFA/makeadonation.html DONATE BY PHONE Call 1-866-232-8484 and make a credit card donation.DONATE BY MAIL Send a check or money order payable to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 7th fl., New York, NY 10001. are appreciated by the family.