James William Geary

James William Geary, age 68, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, passed away at 10:50AM
Thursday, August 22, 2013 at Wyandot Memorial Hospital in Upper Sandusky.

Jim was born on January 13, 1945 in Ft. Myers, Florida, to Francis and Wilma (Barney) Geary, both deceased. He was first married to Charlene Wojcieszak and then married Linda L. Folck on March 31, 1984 in Stow, Ohio, and she survives.

He is survived by a son James W. (Tracey) Geary of Waterford, Michigan, along with
3 grandchildren, Joshua, Courtney and Campbell.

Also surviving is a brother, Thomas (Cathleen) Geary of Forestville, New York, and 4 sisters, Kathleen Miller of Angola, New York, Patti Dimond of N. Tonawanda New York, Mary Wilder of Hamburg, NY and Maureen (William) Lobko of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Jim is also survived by his mother in law, Pepper Folck of Little Rock, Arkansas,
And 2 sister in laws, Karen (Mark) Smeltzer, of Little Rock, and Nancy Folck of Wichita, Kansas and a special niece, Shelly (Kevin) Czarnecki of Silver Creek, New York.

Jim was a graduate of South Park High School, Class of 1962, in Buffalo, New York. Upon graduation he served his country with the US Army 101st Airborne Division, 1st Brigade, both in Korea and then in Vietnam from 1963 to 1965.

After the service, Jim graduated from the State University of New York at Buffalo, with a four year degree with a dual major in history and political science. He then went on to obtain his Master's Degree in 1971 and a Ph.D. in History in 1976 both at Kent State University. After being appointed to a faculty position in the University Libraries, Jim earned a second Master's in Library and Information Science in 1978.

His career began as the University Archivist and Director of American History Research Center at Kent State University. He later served as the Assistant Dean at Kent State's Liverpool Campus. He subsequently headed the Circulation Department at Kent State and then joined the reference Department to lead its instructional unit. Jim authored WE Need Men: The Union Draft in the Civil War (Northern Illinois Unversity Press, 1991) and co-edited with John T. Hubbell, The Biographical Dictionary of the Union, (Greenwood Press, 1995). Upon his retirement, Kent's Board of Trustees conferred the title "Professor Emeritus of Libraries and Media Services" in recognition of his various and sustained contributions to the University.

After his retirement, Jim and his wife Linda moved to Upper Sandusky in 2002. He
began serving this community with his involvement with the Upper Tree Commission, and currently with the Upper Park Board, the Upper Sandusky Veterans Color Guard and the Wyandot Memorial Association.

He was a life member of the VFW Post 2842, American Legion Post 225, Amvets Post 777, the D.A.V. and the 101st Airborne Division Association.

Jim played a key role in community enhancements, such as the veteran's park benches in Stepping Stones and at the Bicentennial Park, William Naus Post #2842 75th anniversary marker, the flag mural downtown, Robbins Rock Memorial at Harrison Smith Park and his current work, the Memorial Flag Pole at the entrance of Harrison Smith Park to commemorate the Bicentennial of the war of 1812. He also was played an integral
part in the planning and conducting of the annual Memorial Day program at Harrison Smith Park.

For hobbies Jim enjoyed traveling with Linda to Pennsylvania, to hike and kayak in the many woods and rivers along the way. He enjoyed going to historic sites of old forts and memorials throughout the states, and taking his grandkids to the fair. He loved reading military history, along with all civil war topics and local history and also enjoyed listening to many types of music, such as patriotic, big band, the Irish Tenors and Patsy Cline.

Memorial services for James William Geary will be held at 3:30PM on Thursday, August 29, 2013, at the Lucas-Batton Funeral Home in Upper Sandusky.