Impactful. Inspiring. Successful – A Tribute to Patricia O’Reilly

If you were a student in one of Patricia O’Reilly’s classes, then you must have been brilliant. After all, she says only teaches brilliant students.

O’Reilly, J.D., was an assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University’s Brantford Campus in the departments of Criminology and Law and Society. Previously, she taught at Grant McEwan College and she also taught life skills to federal inmates.

She practiced in the area of poverty law for eight years as a barrister and solicitor, working on behalf of injured workers. She was an activist on behalf of the homeless, for women’s rights and she was actively involved in social justice issues throughout her life.

O’Reilly passed away on February 5, 2017 after a hard-fought battle with pancreatic cancer. However, her memory continues to live on in her students, colleagues and her loving family.

Fourth year criminology student, Alysha Ferris, first met O’Reilly in her second year. Ferris dropped by Dr. Thomas Fleming’s office hours to get advice for an essay. O’Reilly, who is Fleming’s colleague and wife, was in his office at the time and she ended up giving Ferris advice about her essay too.

“It’s pretty cool that even before I had her as a professor, I knew her,” says Ferris. “She helped me realize things about Criminology that I didn’t even know I liked.”

(Listen to Ferris describe some common phrases O'Reilly used in her classes below)

Ferris later had a class with O’Reilly in her third year. She says that O’Reilly had a way with students that made them feel more appreciated, intelligent and brilliant.

“She doesn’t make you feel like just another student at university. She makes you feel like you can achieve things and that you are brighter than you think you are,” says Ferris.

Criminology professor Dr. M. Raymond Izarali says his office is located across the hall from O’Reilly’s office. He says that students would bring her bouquets of flowers at the end of the semester as a gesture of appreciation.

“She resonated exceptionally well with her students,” says Izarali, while he addressed a memorial gathering for O’Reilly on February 13, 2017. “Patricia O’Reilly was a lady of great magnanimity, of great compassion, of great enthusiasm, and also of great erudition.”

For Ferris, the biggest part of her relationship with O’Reilly originated from Ferris’ mother, who passed away one week before she began her fourth and final year at Laurier Brantford.

Ferris says that O’Reilly called her over to talk at the beginning of her first class and suggested that she should stop by her office hours later that week. According to Ferris, during the office hours, it was like she was talking to her best friend.

“The way she approached it wasn’t anything judgemental, it wasn’t anything sad or ominous. She has this positivity to the way she was asking me what happened,” says Ferris. “I didn’t feel like I needed to cry. I didn’t feel like I needed to leave the room. I felt like I wanted to talk about it with her.”

(Listen to Ferris describe how O'Reilly supported her after her mother's passing below)

“She said ‘I understand that it’s a hard time that you’re going through but I want you to know that you have somebody other than my core group of friends or family that I could talk to,’” says Ferris.

Izarali recalled a moment with O’Reilly during his memorial gathering speech. A special memorial lecture was being organized for the late Nelson Mandela and a poster for the event, featuring a picture of Mandela, was taped on Izarali’s door.

“Patricia was making her way to my office to talk about the event, and upon noticing the poster on my door, she kissed her hand and placed it on the picture of Nelson Mandela to extend a kiss to him, telling me how wonderful a human being he was,” says Izarali. “She was filled with emotions as she talked.”

When asked to describe O’Reilly in three words, Ferris said impactful because of the mark she left here, inspiring because of the lives she touched at Laurier and within her own life and finally, successful because of the amount of work she has done in her life. Izarali also acknowledged the work O’Reilly did in his address.

“Patricia took deep concern for the underprivileged and those trying to make something of themselves,” says Izarali. “She took heart-felt interest in issues of justice.”

“She wasn’t just a professor,” says Ferris. “It was completely different with her. She had a relationship with every student that she had. Even if you didn’t know her as well as I did, you feel like you did just by being in her class.”

(Listen to Ferris describe how O'Reilly is impactful, inspiring and successful below)

Shortly after she passed, O’Reilly’s daughter, Katharine O’Reilly, set up a GoFundMe page for “The Patricia O’Reilly Scholarship.” According to the page, the scholarship will annually support students interested in pursing issues of social justice, especially if they are intending on applying to law school or graduate studies. The Criminology Student Association has also dedicated an award in O’Reilly’s name for their annual conference.

“I just feel like because of who she was, her impact and the amount of things she did for our campus, it is 100 per cent necessary,” says Ferris. “If her daughter didn’t start the scholarship campaign, somebody else would have.”

O’Reilly’s office in Grand River Hall is still untouched. Ferris says she knows some professors touch O’Reilly’s plaque as they walk by her office as a way to show they are thinking of her.

“I want her to be remembered for what she did in her life,” says Ferris. “She was just a very loving person.”