Obituaries

John D’Arcy, Jr.

June 7, 1916 – June 22, 2019

“To do what is right, to love faithfulness, and to live in humble fellowship with God”…this exhortation from the prophet Micah is a lovely summation of the life of John D’Arcy, Jr., who passed away on June 22, 2019 at the age of 103.

John was born in St. Louis, Missouri to John and Julia D’Arcy.  After graduating from high school in Kirkwood, Missouri, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, and eventually pursued graduate studies in business at Indiana University. He began his career with the Quaker Oats Company in St. Joseph, Missouri, as a management trainee.  With the exception of two and a half years as a deck and communications officer in the US Navy during World War II, John worked for Quaker until his retirement in 1978, rising through the ranks to become Vice Chairman and a Director of the company.

John married his college sweetheart, Marian Smith of Hicksville, Ohio, in 1939, and they first lived in Akron, Ohio.  When Quaker transferred John to Chicago in 1947, he and Marian chose to settle in Geneva, Illinois with their two children, John and Nan. The D’Arcy’s made the Episcopal Church of         St. Mark’s in Geneva their church home.  Their third child, David, was born in 1951, but a year later, Marian’s untimely death delivered a devastating blow to the young family.

In 1954, he met Marguerite “Meg” Helmantoler, who was working as a secretary at Quaker while studying voice at the American conservatory of Music in Chicago and singing in the Lyric Opera chorus.  In November 1955 Meg and John married and the family’s fourth child, Tom, was born in 1959.  Meg passed away in 2010.

The list of community, corporate, and faith-based organizations that John D’Arcy served over the course of his life is a lengthy one – among them are Episcopal Charities and Community Services of Chicago, Rock Island Railroad, Sears Bank and Trust, Geneva Community Hospital and the UNCF (United Negro College Fund) – but the two with the greatest claims on his resources and his heart were the Chicago Sunday Evening Club (SEC) and the Trinity School for Ministry (TSM).

The Sunday evening Club was a broadcasting ministry on Chicago’s PBS station WTTW that brought outstanding Christian speakers and musicians to Chicago.  John served as the president of the SEC for nine years.  It was in this role that he became acquainted with The Reverend John Guest and learned of his vision for starting an Anglican seminary in Ambridge, Pennsylvania called Trinity School for Ministry (TSM).  John D’Arcy served as a founding trustee of TSM and his business acumen was greatly valued as the fledgling school grew to be the thriving institution it is today.

With inspiration from John Guest and leadership from John, St. Mark’s began its transformation to the spirit filled and burgeoning congregation it is today.  In June 2015, the parish of St. Mark’s created the D’Arcy Courtyard outside the main entrance in thanksgiving for John and Marguerite D’Arcy.

John is survived by his four children, John (Flora) D’Arcy of Salt Lake City, Utah; Marian “Nan” (Tom) Gunderson of Ashland, Oregon;  David (Judy Freitag) D’Arcy of Evanston, Illinois; Tom (Sharon) D’Arcy of Wilmette, Illinois and by twelve grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at 10:00 A.M. August 3, 2019 at the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 320 Franklin Street Geneva.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in John’s memory may be made to Episcopal Charities Community Services, 65 E. Huron,  Chicago, IL 60611.

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