In Memoriam: Thomas E. O'Reilly, 93
Retired After 30 Years at CMB as SVP, Human Resources
Thomas (Tom) Eugene O'Reilly Sr., who retired from Chase Manhattan Bank as a Senior Vice President in Human Resources, died on August 26, 2026, in Scottsdale, AZ. He was 93.He was born on September 7, 1932 in Wichita, KS, but his family moved four times before he began college: to St. Matthews, KY, where O'Reilly started school and began his love of riding horses; to Columbus, OH, for the war years; and to St. Paul, MN, where, at Cretin High School, he was in the Officers Club, Photography Club, and on the track team. He was also very active in Boy Scouts and was an Eagle Scout, Second Honors Member of the Order of the Arrow, recipient of the Ad Altare Dei Award, and a camp staff member. He was the St. Paul Area Council Delegate to the National Order of the Arrow Convention in Indiana.
After graduating from high school in 1950, O'Reilly and his family moved to Westchester County, NY, where he attended Iona College in New Rochelle, graduating in 1954 with a BA in Economics. He immediately began working toward an MBA at New York University. He worked three summers as a wrangler at the Gabby Hayes Ranch Camp in East Jewett, NY, in the Catskill Mountains.
He joined the Army in 1954 and spent three years as a Special Agent in counterintelligence. While living in his old parish in Columbus, Ohio, he met his future wife, Lorraine (Simmie) Bryant of Canvas, WV. The newlyweds moved to New York. O'Reilly joined The Chase Manhattan Bank in 1957 and resumed his studies at NYU, receiving his degree in 1958.
The first two of his five children were born in Queens Village, NY, the other three after he and his wife moved to River Vale, NJ in 1964.
O'Reilly was at Chase for 30 years, where he served in a number of Human Resource positions, including Director of Employee Relations, Director of Management Resources and Director of Executive Resources. He retired in 1987 as a Senior Vice President.
During his Chase years, he graduated from the American Bankers Association Stonier School of Banking at Rutgers University in 1968. His thesis was awarded Honors, and he subsequently served as a Thesis Advisor and Examiner and as a lecturer in Affirmative Action.
After Chase, O'Reilly joined the international outplacement firm of Lee Hecht Harrison as a Vice President and Senior Consultant, where he worked primarily with senior corporate executives.Retiring from Lee Hecht Harrison in 1993, O'Reilly and his wife moved to Cave Creek, AZ, north of Phoenix, living for 33 years in a house they built. O'Reilly was President of the Cave Creek Saddle Club, a Board Member of the Arizona State Horseman's Association, and a member of the BLM Range Resource Team.
In order to better enjoy the beautiful Sonoran Desert, he "adopted" two horses from the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program and enjoyed having them for 17 years. In 2019, he and his wife sold the house and moved to an apartment in Cave Creek, where he lived until his death..
He is survived by Simmie, his wife of 69 years; his sister, Judith Ann Scherer; five children, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
Remembrances
Please send remembrances to news@chasealum.org
From Joe Murphy: Tom spent 93 years making friends throughout the world and helping colleagues progress through their career journeys.
After a visit with Tom at Chase, young Vice Presidents obtained a better understanding of where they were. And more importantly where they were headed. In 1977, I began that journey with Tom, as he presented me a new career path choice at Chase. “Something like change is good” was his theme. That professional interface led to a friendship these past five decades.
In sharing “memories and messages” about Tom today, one theme is constant. Tom didn’t answer your questions as he presented a new career opportunity awaiting your decision. My psychologist friends describe Tom’s approach as the “Socratic Dialogue”. Not realizing it at the time, Tom was a master. We just didn’t realize it as he worked his magic. Senior leaders of the bank entrusted Tom with negotiating these career-enhancing deals. His endless questioning led us to the right decision. So many of us have so much to be thankful for as a result of the time Tom spent with us.
In sharing “memories and messages” about Tom today, one theme is constant. Tom didn’t answer your questions as he presented a new career opportunity awaiting your decision. My psychologist friends describe Tom’s approach as the “Socratic Dialogue”. Not realizing it at the time, Tom was a master. We just didn’t realize it as he worked his magic. Senior leaders of the bank entrusted Tom with negotiating these career-enhancing deals. His endless questioning led us to the right decision. So many of us have so much to be thankful for as a result of the time Tom spent with us.
More importantly, Tom and his wife, Simmie, were blessed with five children. His children called him the “greatest Dad”.
Dona and I send our prayers to his extended family.
Requiescat in pace, Thomas Eugene O’Reilly.
And peace to Tom Jr., Patricia, Susan, Greg, Pamela and his beloved Simmie.
Dona and I send our prayers to his extended family.
Requiescat in pace, Thomas Eugene O’Reilly.
And peace to Tom Jr., Patricia, Susan, Greg, Pamela and his beloved Simmie.
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Both of us ended up in Cave Creek, AZ. I wrote the following in 2011 about him:
In the week before classes began at NYU, Tom met a recruiter who asked him to keep in touch. A day later Tom received a registered letter asking him to contact the recruiter, and after one interview Tom was offered a job at The Chase Manhattan Bank at 20 Pine Street in Personnel. Tom was a tough negotiator: He was offered $80 per week, negotiated diligently and started at $84. NYU would now be night school, and he earned his MBA two years later. His Master's Thesis compared compensation at 20 banks. Imagine the skill he required to convince competing banks to release compensation info in the late 1950s.
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By 1971 Tom was a Vice President in HR providing and directing recruiting and personnel resources to departments across the Bank. Then it was on to the International Department and staffing the expanding country network of branches and rep offices around the globe. Alan Lafley arrived from GE to run HR, and Tom took on more responsibilities at Head Office.
By the late 1970s, Tom had a critical role at Chase. One change was developing future leaders across the sectors, and a key component was moving high performers and senior officers among organizations, following the GE model. GE had developed executives who, say, headed an airplane engine subsidiary and were next assigned to a financial services sub.
Tom's role was to work with department executives and then recommend that a high performer or senior in the Corporate Bank be transferred to International as a Country Manager…or move a promising VP from Institutional lending to Ops and Systems. Department Executives were not quick to return his call, but he was a people guy – and persistent as well.
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His retirement and move to the desert in 1994 brought out the Cowboy. His home includes a stable and corral for his horses. He takes daily rides in Tonto National Forest or Spur Cross. An invitation to meet at his home early morning will provide the opportunity to ride a horse or take a hike through the desert bordering his property in Cave Creek. The early morning hike begins at his front door turning left onto Simmie's own Desert Garden: notice the Stations of the Cross embedded in the garden.
Crossing and traversing The Deep Water Wash – aka intermittent river on the Army Maps - is the next stage of his self=directed hike. The optimal time in spring and fall is early morning, as the cool winds still move the air and the sun is slowly rising. Limited commentary is offered. Listen closely and Tom will point out spring wildflowers: yellowish flowers blooming on a barrel cactus, cylindrical stems growing in a cluster on a hedgehog cactus or the Indian paintbrush.
Pausing on the early morning hike in front of a small cave-like opening, Tom offers that this is where some bobcats reside. A desert cottontail moving about is enough to catch the attention of the morning hikers. In spring the western diamondback rattlesnake begin to reappear after a restful winter. Fortunately, only desert iguanas cross our path. Coyote sightings and encounters are reserved for the evening hikes.
Tom's past experience, skills and talent do not lay dormant. Land development and forest fires play a major role in the lives of people here. Tom has taken a leadership role in the land preservation and planning efforts for the Town of Cave Creek.
Tom's past experience, skills and talent do not lay dormant. Land development and forest fires play a major role in the lives of people here. Tom has taken a leadership role in the land preservation and planning efforts for the Town of Cave Creek.
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Email? Cell phone? Not for this Cowboy - he has visitors and talks on a land line to maintain contacts made through a lifetime of helping, guiding and mentoring many Chase Bankers.