Gynny O'Hara

1951 - 2025

Gynny (Virginia) O'Hara.

Artist, activist, and wise-woman Gynny O'Hara left this world on September 21, 2025 after a lifetime of being a positive influence on all who met her: her eight brothers and sisters, two wonderful sons, her devoted husband, and hundreds of children on the playground at St. Paul the Apostle School in Davenport.

Gynny was born to John and Shirley (Wilson) Moe on April 3, 1951 in Eau Claire, WI. She grew up in Appleton, and after attending college at UW-River Falls, sought her calling fighting injustice, protecting those who needed it, and creating art. She marched for civil rights and against segregation and war.

In the late seventies, fate found her in Davenport, IA writing commercials for KSTT radio. It was there she met her husband of 43 years, Jim O'Hara. Working together, they were part of powerhouse 80's pop station KIIK, where she served as Music Director and Audience Development Director. She had a particular eye for outrageous promotions, a warm and natural hospitality, and a sense of what made local radio really special: its connection to the community.

A decade after retiring from radio, she found another career working with children from St. Paul's as playground supervisor. Amid a sea of navy-blue uniforms, generations of students knew her for her colorful shoes, Hawaiian shirts, and red lipstick. Mrs. O'Hara stood ready to help you up when you fell, tie your shoes, and send you back into the game. Her kindness and her patience made her a favorite, and every year she would hang up dozens of cards and pictures she received from "her kids."

She and Jim raised two sons who knew her as a genius and will miss her every day.

Gynny was a voracious reader, racing through stacks of novels from her local library every week. She created art for her entire life in a variety of media: paintings, drawings, collage, sculpture, stained glass, and poetry, to name a few. She was widely read on art and culture, and while she was never without an opinion, she was kind and a good listener. She was the kind of person everyone remembers and wants to know - her smile and her laugh turned strangers into friends everywhere she went.

Gynny O'Hara was preceded in death by her parents and brothers Marc and Peter Moe. She is survived and remembered warmly by her husband Jim, sons Andrew (Elizabeth) Hosmanek and Michael (Kathryn) O'Hara, as well as her sisters KaraLynne Moore, Jacqueline Moe, Jennie Ananda, Meredith Moe and brothers John and Bruce Moe.

If you knew Gynny, you're invited to a visitation with family on Saturday October 18 from noon to 3 p.m. in Denning Hall, adjacent to St Paul the Apostle Church in Davenport. A mass will also be celebrated in her name beforehand on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at St Paul's. Hawaiian shirts are encouraged but not mandatory.