James (Jim) Bradford O'Reilly, Jr.

James (Jim) Bradford O’Reilly, Jr., 90, died July 20. He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Cecelia (Haase) O’Reilly. He is survived by his wife Martha (Marty) of 66 years, and daughter, Karen (Mike) Arzamendi, Decatur, TX, and sons David (Karin), McPherson, KS, Jeff, Lakewood, CO, and Joe and John, Littleton, CO. He has 7 living grandchildren, 1 deceased and 16 great-grandchildren. He was born in Oklahoma City, OK, and attended grades 1 through 12 at John Carroll Catholic School. In these years he was universally called “JB”, to distinguish him from his father. He was also known as a prankster, and many adults feared that he would never amount to much. He earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma State University in 1957. He worked as a design engineer at Aero Commander Aircraft, Norman, OK, and Mooney Aircraft, Kerrville, TX, until 1972, when he was approached by Magna Engineering Sales to come work in engineering sales, a job which involved sales of components in the aircraft industry, along with engineering support. He did this until the end of 1994. He had always missed the design engineering work, and for one year after his retirement from Magna he worked as a contract design engineer at Gulfstream Aircraft, Savannah, GA. In the 1960’s and 70’s Jim and Marty frequently took their children on summer vacations throughout the southwestern United States with a fold-out travel trailer. This gave their children a great appreciation of the outdoors, which is why 3 of the sons now reside in Colorado. All his life Jim was an avid model airplane designer, builder and competitor in what is known as “Free Flight”. These are very light models of balsa and tissue construction that glide in circles as they drift downwind, the goal being duration of flight. He attended many contests across the United States, with a particular emphasis on the Nationals each year. He designed many of his own planes, which were published in model airplane magazines, and he also wrote technical articles that advanced the hobby. He was active in the National Freeflight Society and SAM (Society of Antique Modelers) and was inducted into the SAM Hall of Fame in 2006, and into the National Freeflight Society Hall of Fame in 2007. In the late 1990’s Jim and Marty purchased a travel trailer, and they enjoyed camping out at the flying fields where the contests were held. This was a great enjoyment for them. In 1995 he started a model airplane plans business. He would obtain antique model airplane plans from the 1930’s and later, and re-create them in a computer aided design (CAD) format. Errors in the original plans would be corrected along the way, and limited design improvements could be made as well. He would then plot out the finished plan on a large roll-sized plotter, and mail the finished product to the customer. In 1998 he teamed up with a partner who had a laser cutter who could cut balsa wood sheet to form kits. From this point the business blossomed until he retired from it in 2021. He eventually had a catalogue of over 300 plans and variations. Jim was always known for his sense of humor, with a tendency toward puns. He had enthusiasm for helping or assisting others, and was also known for his intelligence and technical competency, as well as his people skills, which is why he was offered a job as a sales engineer. His sense of humor and his engineering abilities were passed onto his children, two of whom also became mechanical engineers. In later years Jim volunteered as a Eucharistic minister at Resurrection Church, and also at the Catholic Care Center where he would take the Eucharist to people’s rooms after Mass. Rosary will be 7:00 pm, Monday, July 24, 2023, with Funeral Mass at 10:00 am, Tuesday, July 25, 2023, both at Church of the Resurrection Catholic Church. Memorials have been established with: Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita, KS 67202 and The Lord’s Diner, 520 N. Broadway St., Wichita, KS 67214. Services in care of Downing & Lahey East Mortuary.