James Patrick Kearley

James “Jim” Patrick Kearley, 58, passed away peacefully March 10, 2021 after a courageous battle with metastatic cancer. Born August 8, 1962 in Elgin, IL to Patrick and Susanne Kearley, Jim grew up in both Illinois and Southern California with his brothers and sisters.  Jim shared a unique and close bond with all four of his siblings. They enjoyed spending time together with their extended families,  loved and supported one another in their joys and trials. Jim and his siblings shared their deep faith and friendship that was passed down by their parents.

Jim was an accomplished and talented baseball player throughout his youth and teen years. He graduated with high honors from Crystal Lake Central in 1980 and then served in the US Navy for six years specializing in Nuclear Power Engineering. He graduated from Northern Illinois University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting.

While in the US Navy, Jim married his beloved high school sweetheart, Laurie (nee Swift) on July 28, 1984. They lived in several places early in their marriage while Jim served in the military. Jim and Laurie later settled in McHenry to raise their loving sons, Matt and Chris. Jim and Laurie shared a wonderful life together. They loved raising their boys, camping, traveling, family get togethers, were active church members, and enjoyed the theater. They raised their beautiful family together for 29 years before Laurie’s passing of brain cancer in 2014. Jim’s in-laws, Bob and Marlene Swift were a huge support to him, especially after the loss of their daughter, Laurie.  Jim and the boys often looked forward to the wonderful meals Marlene would bring to them and the valuable lessons and skills that Bob shared with them. Although it was an extremely difficult time, Jim focused on caring for his boys, growing in his faith, and his career. Jim worked at Tenneco as an IT Business Analyst for over 20 years. There, he made many lifelong friends.

Jim met his wife Laura through their mutual deep devotion to family and their faith. Married on May 14, 2016, they remained active members of Brooklife Community Church. They also enjoyed attending concerts, taking trips, participating in bible study groups, going to the beach, racketball, bowling, the McHenry Riverwalk, and cherished spending time with family and friends.  Jim formed a special and caring bond with his stepchildren, Nicole and Ryan. He loved them as his own.

Jim was a kind and loving soul to all of those he met. He enjoyed baseball, sports, collecting baseball cards, classic 70’s music, trivia, and playing cribbage. Above all else, Jim treasured his family and faith. Jim was extremely proud of the men and husbands his sons have become. He adored his grandsons, Thomas and Jeffrey. He loved being with them, taking them to the park, singing songs with them and playing playdough.

Even in his final days, Jim brought comfort and peace to others, relied on his faith, and continued to share that faith with others. His heart ached for those he was leaving behind, especially his sons. Jim’s wife, Laura stood by his side always, cherished him and the love they shared, and cared for him until he took his last breath. She treasured the devoted husband, helpmate, and best friend she had in him.  Jim was an incredible, loving, kind, humble, intelligent man who will be deeply missed by the countless family, friends, co-workers he had in his lifetime.

Jim is survived by his loving wife, Laura; children, Matthew (Rebecca), and Christopher (Rachel) Kearley; step daughter, Nicole (Jim) Fox; step son, Ryan Green; grandchildren, Thomas and Jeffrey Kearley; siblings, Bill (late Betsy) Kearley, Patricia (John) Minardi, Judy (Chuck) Dodd; and Don (Julie) Kearley; parents in law, Bob and Marlene Swift; and brother in law, David (Mari) Swift.  He was preceded in death by his parents, wife, Laurie; sister in law, Betsy; and niece, Trisha.

Visitation will be 4-8pm Tuesday, March 16 at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave (Route 176), Crystal Lake.

The funeral service will begin at 11am Wednesday, March 17 at the funeral home with visitation an hour prior to the service. Pastor Larry Tieman will be presiding over the service.  Burial will follow at Windridge Memorial Park, Cary.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Dr. Thompson and the Cancer Center at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee towards continuing research in developing effective cancer treatments. Jim’s family is eternally grateful for the outstanding and compassionate care Jim received from Dr. Jonathan Thompson and his staff at Froedtert throughout the past year and a half of his cancer journey. The link for donations: https://www.mcw.edu/giving, select “Donate Now”. On the next screen, under gift designation, you can select “other” and a new box will appear. This is where you may type in where you would like the gift to support the Cancer Center and Dr. Thompson in Jim’s name.

Donations may also be made to Immanuel Lutheran Church, Crystal Lake or Brooklife Community Church, Mukwonogo, WI.  Both churches have had a wonderful impact on Jim’s faith journey and life.