Honor O’Reilly

Honor O’Reilly, 88, of Flagler Beach, Florida passed away peacefully surrounded by family in Columbus, Ohio, on February 12, 2025. Honor was born on April 19, 1936, in Upstreet Kent, England to Isabella (Cain) and John McNulty. 

When she would speak of her childhood in England, she always spoke of the beautiful gardens, being near the sea, and running carefree outdoors. It wasn’t until her later years that she began sharing the stories of living through the bombings of WWII. At age six, she and her younger brother Larry were sent by proclamation by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Scotland in order to keep the children safe. Her mother took them to live with her Aunt Margaret and visited them when she could. She started school in Scotland, where she said she was the only English child in the whole school. She talked about being a little mischievous during those years. When the All Clear sounded, Honor returned home to England where she attended St. Anne’s Convent for school and church. She learned to play netball (similar to basketball) and tennis. She also took ballet and tap dance at the studio in Canterbury and learned to play the piano, which her father bought for her family. She loved music.

When Honor was 18, she got a working Visa and traveled on The Queen Elizabeth to New York, USA to live with her sister and brother-in-law, Ann and Al Hatos. She worked with Ann in New York for a time until she transferred to Syracuse, NY to work as a secretary at Whitehead Metals. It was in the breakroom where she met Ed during lunch, when a mutual friend invited her to do the crossword puzzle with them.

She married Edward O’Reilly on June 22, 1957, in Syracuse, NY before moving to Youngstown, Ohio where they raised their nine children and fostered many others. She had a huge impact on all the children who had the privilege of being loved by her. She never turned away any of her children’s friends and would always set an extra plate for anyone who was at the house during mealtimes.

Honor was devout in her faith and active in the Catholic Church, sharing her gift and talent of floral designing and tying bows to decorate the church, especially for the holidays. She was an avid gardener, achieving her Master Gardener status in both Ohio and Florida. From childhood, Honor took her love of sports and played tennis into her 80’s and would challenge anyone of any age to shooting hoops, claiming her victory before she set foot on the court. She was a life-long student taking college courses whenever she could. She seemed to enjoy photography classes the most as her camera was always within reach. 

Her greatest love was God, her husband, and her family. She was a natural teacher to anyone who was willing to learn, be it playing sports, playing music, making floral arrangements, planting gardens, cooking, sewing, or taking pictures. Even while visiting parks, gardens or beaches, Honor always had a valuable nugget to share. She was a lover and a fighter throughout her entire life.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward Francis O’Reilly, her parents, John and Isabella McNulty, brothers: John (Marie) McNulty and Jim (Joan) McNulty, and sisters: Pat (John) Andrews, Ann (Alexander) Hatos, Margaret (William) Kennedy, and Sister Elizabeth McNulty. 

She is survived by her brother, Larry (Liz) McNulty of England, and her nine children: Mike (Joyce) O’Reilly, Kevin (Margaret) O’Reilly, Patricia (Mark) Mayersky, Edward (Michelle) O’Reilly, Honor (Rick) Worthington, Lisa (Tim) Montague, Jim (Charity) O’Reilly, David O’Reilly, and Ann-Marie (Bobby) Bevel. She also leaves behind her 26 grandchildren and their spouses, and 14 great-grandchildren.

Family will receive friends for a visitation and funeral service with the visitation being held at the Tidd Family Funeral Home, 5265 Norwich St., Hilliard, Ohio, 43026, on Sunday, February 23, from 1:00-3:00PM. The funeral service will be held the following day at St. Brendan Church, 4475 Dublin Rd, Hilliard, Ohio, 43026, with the mass beginning at 10:30am. The family invites everyone to join them for a luncheon following the funeral mass.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Columbus Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/centralohio), Columbus Catholic Social Services (https://colscss.org/), or the IFAS Extension Flagler Count Fund (https://www.uff.ufl.edu/giving-opportunities/023499-ifas-extension-flagler-county-fund/) in Honor’s name.