Joseph Walter "Joe" O'Callaghan

1928 - 2014

TUPELO – Joseph Walter ""Joe"" O'Callaghan, 85, died Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014, at Sanctuary Hospice House after a brief illness. He was born Feb. 17, 1928, to James P. and Lucy Francis O'Callaghan. He graduated from Tupelo High School in 1945, then attended Millsaps College and Mississippi State University. He was a veteran of the U.S. Marines Corps. He was employed by Delta Airlines in Memphis in various capacities in several different cities. He met his wife, Donna J. Doss of Wynne, Ark., and they were married on May 15, 1955. They returned to Tupelo in 1956 to own and operate O'Callaghan's Dairy Bar and O'Callaghan's Drive Inn. He and his sister, Emma Rial, became partners of Rial Vending Service in 1962 where he worked until his retirement in 2000. He was a charter member of St. Luke United Methodist Church. He was a longtime member of Tupelo Country Club, where he enjoyed playing golf and cards with his friends.
A celebration of his life will be 2 p.m. today, Jan. 15, at Jefferson Street Chapel of W.E. Pegues with the Rev. Duncan Clark officiating. Burial will be in Tupelo Memorial Gardens.
Survivors include his wife, Donna Doss O'Callaghan of Tupelo; his four children, Diana O'Callaghan Mobley (Bill) of Oxford, Mary O'Callaghan Anderson (Gerald) of Tupelo, Bob O'Callaghan of Tupelo and Joe O'Callaghan Jr. (Cindy) of Saltillo; grandchildren, Clinton Anderson, Elizabeth Anderson, Blake O'Callaghan, Emmie O'Callaghan, Hayden O'Callaghan, Caley O'Callaghan and Morgan O'Callaghan; and great-grandchildren, Paisley Ayden O'Callaghan and Emma Olivia Anderson.
He was preceded in death by his parents; and his siblings, Elizabeth O'Callaghan, George F. O'Callaghan, James P. O'Callaghan Jr., Edward O'Callaghan and Emma O'Callaghan Rial.
Pallbearers will be Clinton Anderson, Blake O'Callaghan, Hayden O'Callaghan, Pete Poland, Steve Hester, Jerry Hollingsworth, Virgil Henry and Jim Diffee. Honorary pallbearers will be Ralph ""Duck"" Holland and James Whatley.
Visitation will continue one hour prior to service time today.
In lieu of flowers, the family request memorials be made to Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38803.
Expressions of sympathy may be left at www.peguesfuneralhome.com.