Obituary of Christopher John O'Reilly

Christopher O'Reilly, 61, passed peacefully after a long illness on August 30th, 2022 at Eastern Maine Medical Center. He was born on March 31st, 1961 in Trenton, New Jersey. 

Chris was predeceased by his father, John O'Reilly. He is survived by his fiancée Kathy Klein whom he often called the love of his life, his mother Marion O'Reilly, his sister Colleen O'Reilly, his brother-in-law Nicholas Saphin, his nephew Reilly Saphin, and his niece Charlotte Saphin.

Chris had a love of learning. He attended the George School in Newtown, Pennsylvania and graduated in 1979. After high school, he studied Peace and Global Studies at Earlham College. He then studied History at Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski in Lublin, Poland. After this, he went on to study Nursing at the University of Texas at Arlington and went to Flight Nurse School at the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine. In addition, Chris also took classes at Princeton Theological Seminary and attended culinary school. 

Chris's love of nursing took him all over the country and the world. He worked as an ER nurse, trauma nurse, OR Nurse, and Air Force Flight Nurse. While serving in the Air Force, he was awarded a Purple Heart after an ambulance he was traveling in with a patient hit an IED. Chris worked in many hospitals over his long career as a nurse,  including Cooper Hospital in Camden, NJ; Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA; Nantucket Cottage Hospital in Nantucket, MA; Millinocket Regional Hospital in Millinocket, ME; and MDI Hospital in Bar Harbor, ME.

Besides his love of nursing, Chris enjoyed art, music, literature, cooking, and hiking in a kilt. He took pride in his Polish and Irish ancestry. He also found joy in volunteering for community projects and organizations. He spent time in Jamaica  volunteering with Father Richard Ho Lung to provide care for those in need. When he lived on MDI, he spent many hours as a volunteer cook for Open Table MDI, an organization which provides free community meals on Mount Desert Island. Chris left this world having made it a better place for his presence in it. 

On Saturday, October 8th there will be a hike up Barnard Mountain in the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Park to spread Chris's ashes. Those who wish to join in remembering him this way should meet in the Irving parking lot in Medway at 11:00 AM. In case of rain, the hike will take place on Monday, October 10th. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, October 9th at 2:00 PM at Open Table MDI in Bar Harbor. Those who wish to participate but cannot attend are welcome to join via Zoom. For a link, please call or text Kathy at 207-746-7131. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Open Table MDI at https://www.opentablemdi.org/donate/