John Lynch “Cowboy Jack” O’Hearn

Born: 24 July 1880 in Hardin County, Iowa

Died: 3 February 1963 in Dallas, Dallas County, Texas

Buried: Grovehill Cemetery, Dallas, Dallas County, Texas

Married: Anna Foley on 18 February 1906 at Saint Patrick’s Church in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri

Married: Sadie (or Sarah) Lovell (died during the flu pandemic in 1918)

Married: Gene Hill (Gene and their son died in childbirth)

Married: Lois Josephine Reichenstein on 11 October 1926 at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Dallas, Texas

Parents:

  • Daniel William O’Hearn
  • Elizabeth Lynch

Siblings:

  1. William O’Hearn (1881 – 1882)
  2. Mary Katherine O’Hearn (1885 – 1953)
  3. Elizabeth O’Hearn (1889 – 1892)
  4. Peter Henry O’Hearn (1893 – 1893)

Children:

  1. Louis Daniel O’Hearn
  2. Elizabeth Ann O’Hearn

From a retyped family document (date & author unknown):

Mr. O’Hearn graduated from Iowa State University in 1904, with a degree in Civil Engineering and accepted a job with the American Bridge Co. in Pittsburgh, Pa.

In 1905, Mr. O’Hearn left the American Bridge Co. to take the position of Bridge Engineer with the Kansas City Mexico & Orient Railway Co. The K.C.M.&O. Railway Co. was a new company, in the process of construction from Kansas City to Tuplabampo, Mexico. Several months later Mr. O’Hearn left the Bridge department to take a Resident Engineer’s postion with the company in Oklahoma. Mr. O’Hearn was with the K.C.M.O. for a year or two until the Railroad went out of business.

Between 1907 and 1913, Mr. O’Hearn lived in Clinton, Oklahoma where he practiced as a Consulting Civil Engineer. While living at Clinton, Mr. O’Hearn also served as City Enigneer and County Surveyor for Custer County and was for a time Chief Engineer for the Clinton, Oklahoma Street Railway Co.

Sometime between 1913 and 1916 Mr. O’Hearn left Clinton and moved to Dallas, Texas, by way of Oklahoma City. Since 1916 Mr. O’Hearn has made his home in Dallas. Mr. O’Hearn went with the Truscon Steel Co., about 1916 when he opened their Dallas office. While Mr. O’Hearn was with Truscon he was actively engaged in the design of reinforced concrete construction.

In 1924, Mr. O’Hearn formed his own company, representing several building products manufactures, and was actively engaged in his business until a year or two before his death when he was forced to retire because of poor health.

Among Mr. O’Hearn’s engineering accomplishments are water supply and sanitary sewage system for Clinton and Weatherford, Oklahoma, which were among their first. Mr. O’Hearn redesigned the McFarlin Auditorium on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Reinforced Concrete and Structural Steel.

Mr. O’Hearn has been a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers since his graduation from college. Mr. O’Hearn has been active in the Dallas branch of the Society since its formation, serving as president of the Dallas branch in 1929 and again in 1948. From 1940 through 1947 Mr. O’Hearn served as Secretary for the Dallas Branch and for several years he served as contact member between the Society and the Southern Methodist University Student Chapter. Mr. O’Hearn has been a life member of the Society since 1944.

In 1960, Mr. O’Hearn was made Honorary Member of the Southern Methodist University Chapter of Chi Epsilon, National Honorary Civil Engineering Fraternity.

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