Prospect Heights loses longtime alderman O’Donoghue

Thomas O’Donoghue spent much of his life in public service in Prospect Heights, and after he died Wednesday at 84, those close to him remembered his dedication to the city and his family.

“He was a people person,” said James O’Donoghue, 50, one of seven children. “He just loved getting involved, he liked people and he liked to help out.”

O’Donoghue was the 2nd Ward alderman on the Prospect Heights City Council for more than 10 years in the 1990s and early 2000s. He was also a trustee on boards for the local fire district and his family church, and volunteered for years with Knights of Columbus.

“He was a great guy, very professional and a great role model,” said former mayor Dolly Vole, who worked with O’Donoghue on the city council. “He really cared about the city.”

Gregory Koeppen, another former alderman who worked alongside O’Donoghue on the city council from 1995 to 2003, said he respected and will miss his former co-worker.

“His dedication to the citizens of Prospect Heights is an example for others to follow. He will truly be missed,” Koeppen said.

“Tom was a wonderful fellow alderman to work with. He treated myself and others on the city council with respect and was always willing to listen to both sides of an issue before making a decision,” Koeppen said.

Aside from all of his work in public life, Vole said O’Donoghue was primarily a family man.

O’Donoghue first met his future wife, Marie, on a blind date and when he asked her out for a second date, she turned him down.

“It was the first time anyone told him no,” James O’Donoghue said of the story his father told over and over. “So he went after her and, obviously, he got her.”

Next Thursday, Oct. 20, would have been Tom and Marie’s O’Donoghue’s 60th wedding anniversary.

“They were inseparable,” James said. “Without one there wasn’t the other.”

People respected his father and loved his sense of humor and his intelligence, his son said. All seven children live in the Midwest and try to live by what their father taught them: Love, compassion and giving back.

O’Donoghue was born Jan. 19, 1927 in Evanston and was a member of the Evanston Country Club for 40 years. He graduated from Loyola Academy in 1944 and from the University of Notre Dame in 1948 with a degree in chemistry.

In 1960, he founded TODCO Chemical Co., later called TODCO Industries.

O’Donoghue also enjoyed writing poetry for special occasions and holidays, and had a poem about his Notre Dame spirit published on a commemorative plaque after his 50th reunion.

O’Donoghue continued to be active in the community until he became sick in recent years.

James O’Donoghue said his father had been in the hospital for nearly a year before he passed, but that he was a fighter to the end.

James said he didn’t realize the impact his father made had on the community until recently. As he drove past the Prospect Heights Fire Department on Friday, he saw the flag at half staff.

When he stopped to talk to people at the department, every firefighter lined up to shake his hand and tell stories about Tom O’Donoghue.

“As kids we didn’t really realize all the things he did,” James said. “But he touched a lot of people.”

Visitation will be held 3-8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17 at Glueckert Funeral Home, 1520 N. Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights.

The funeral is at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18 at St. Alphonsus Church, 411 N. Wheeling Road in Prospect Heights.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District, 10 E. Camp McDonald Road, Prospect Heights, where O’Donoghue was a trustee for 15 years.