James O'Shaughnessy

O’Shaughnessy, J.J. (Jim)

Feb 19, 1929 – Dec 4, 2021

Jim died peacefully on the morning of December 4, 2021, at the Ottawa Civic Hospital in Ottawa.

Jim married the love of his life, Vivienne Kehoe, in Montreal in 1958, and together they raised their family and shared their lives for 64 years, until her death in August 2021.  Nothing was more important to Jim than his family of Vivienne and their four sons:  Jimmy (Tamara Benoit) of Fenwick, Brian (Nancy Spencer) of Mississauga, Kevin of Ottawa and Michael (Marie Vastel) of Gatineau; and his grandchildren:  Darcy, Marie, Kyle, James VI, and Isabella.  He was predeceased by his parents, Jim O’Shaughnessy Sr. and Gertie (Gethings) of Montreal, his sisters Audrey (Dunlop) and sister Infant Adele of Montreal, and his son Jimmy (in June 2020).  He is survived by his sister Doreen (Jack Gow) of Oakville.

Jim was proud of his Montreal, Irish roots.  Born, raised and educated in Montreal, he was the first O’Shaughnessy to graduate from High School. He was an eight-year scholarship man at Loyola and graduated from Loyola with a B.Sc., and from McGill with a B.Eng

His business carrier of 38 years with Bell Canada took him to several locations in Quebec, Ontario, and Saudi Arabia.  Professionally, he was a member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario, a former President of the Radio Advisory Board of Canada and, as Director General-International for Telecom Canada, the Representative for the Canadian Telecommunication Association at the ITU in Geneva as well as various standards organizations in Canada.  He was the member for Canada on the International Advisory Committee of the International Teletraffic Congress (ITC), and the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the ITC.  Jim was very accomplished, but those that knew him knew he was happiest while tending his garden and in particular his garlic harvest.

A “Man for Others”, Jim was the founding President of the Gloucester-Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club; former President of the Amberwood Village Recreation Association (AVRA) and a charter member and former President of the Amberwood Village Golf and Country Club.  He was active in and a President of his condo in Amberwood and served on the Finance Council of St. Patrick’s Church in Fallowfield.

A Memorial Mass at St Patrick’s church will be held in the Spring.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in Jim’s memory would be appreciated to The Heart Institute in Ottawa, or to the Jim O’Shaughnessy Entrance Scholarship Fund, Loyola High School Foundation, 7272 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal, Quebec, H4B 1R2.