May 24 Today in OPC History

David O’Leary met his wife, Debra, at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. After graduating in 1974, David became a staff member with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship in New Hampshire for the next three years. After Debra’s graduation in 1975, the college sweethearts were married on this day.

In 1977, David began his studies at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Before David graduated with a Master of Divinity in 1982, Bernard “Chip” Stonehouse, the OPC’s first official regional home missionary, had a plan that involved David and the OPC chapel that Chip had started in Reading, Pennsylvania. Chip urged chapel members to hire David as their intern. The O’Learys moved to Reading in 1981. Shortly after graduating from WTS, David was ordained and installed as the pastor of Covenant OPC in Reading on February 6, 1982.

After serving Covenant OPC for twenty years, David answered a call to become the pastor of First Presbyterian Church, North Shore, in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 2002. Over the years, David and Debra spoke at several conferences, including the Deerwander Bible Conference in Maine and Harvey Cedars Bible Conference in New Jersey.

Suffering from Parkinson’s disease, David retired from the Ipswich church on January 31, 2013. He died and went to be with the Lord in Glory on September 13, 2019.

Picture: David and Debra O'Leary