Hometown: Maquoketa, Iowa August 27, 1935 - October 22, 2015

James Patrick "Jim" O'Rourke, 80, passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 22, at Crestridge Nursing Home in Maquoketa, Iowa, in the company of family and friends. Jim was born in Marshalltown, Iowa on August 27, 1935 to Patrick O'Rourke, and Mary Elizabeth Oberle. Jim graduated from St. Mary's High school in Marshalltown in 1953. Following graduation, he enrolled in Iowa State Teachers College (Now UNI). In 1956 he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, where he served in Okinawa, Japan and the Philippines until his honorable discharge in 1958. Returning to UNI, Jim graduated in 1960 with a BS degree in Social Science. While beginning his teaching career he also earned an MA in Student Personal Services from UNI in 1966 and an MA in Learning Disabilities from Clarke University in Dubuque in 1979. Jim's 30 year career in secondary education included teaching and counseling at New Hampton High School, South Tama High School, and Northeast High School in Goose Lake, IA. Jim took great satisfaction in working with both college-bound students and those with disabilities. Jim O'Rourke and Ruth Buenker were married on July 25, 1970 at St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church in Dubuque, IA. They moved to Maquoketa in 1976. Jim enjoyed classic movies, reading, and Sunday morning talk shows. He was a St. Louis Cardinals fan from the age of eight and cheered-on the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Chicago Bears. He followed Democratic politics closely. Always a "duffer" he had a great respect for the game of golf. He was preceded in death by his parents, a brother Raymond in infancy, a brother Edmund in 2006, and a brother Francis in 2011. Jim is survived by his wife, Ruth of 45 years and son Kevin James of Maquoketa. Other survivors include a sister-in-law, Carolyn O'Rourke, Santa Ana, California, nephew, Patrick O'Rourke, Iowa City, Iowa, nieces Maureen Kratoska, Toledo, Iowa, and Kathleen Theissen, U.S. Virgin Islands, sisters-in-law, Mary Kay Bodensteiner and Janet Lohmeier and nephews Luke Bodensteiner, Nathan Bodensteiner and Nicholas Lohmeier.

A visitation will be held at Sacred Heart Church on Tuesday at 9;00 AM at The Sacred Heart Church in Maquoketa, Iowa. The services will begin at 11:00 following the vistiation.

The family wishes to thank the Crestridge staff and Jackson County Hospice for their loving care of Jim in the last months of his life.