Laurence William O'Rourke

Laurence (Larry) W. O’Rourke, 55, of Wakefield, Rhode Island died Thursday, December 15, 2016. He was born in Washington, DC, a son of the late Thomas and Dorothy (Craven) O’Rourke. Mr. O’Rourke graduated from St. Dunstan’s Day School, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1980. After graduation he joined the United States Coast Guard, serving on the USCGC Swivel in Rockland, Maine and on search- and- rescue vessels in New London and New Haven, Connecticut. Upon leaving the Coast Guard, Mr. O’Rourke worked as a shipyard and marine engineer, most notably for Sea Boats, Fall River, Massachusetts, Reinauer Transportation, Staten Island NY, and Manson Construction, Seattle, Washington. Over the course of his career Mr. O’Rourke rose to the position of Chief Engineer Unlimited. He also held numerous engineering and technical certifications and licenses. As project manager on a number of new vessel constructions, he oversaw every aspect of a ship’s building, from the plans to the maiden voyage. In addition to his work in shipyards, Mr. O’Rourke spent a large part of his life at sea as a marine engineer, working on tugboats and dredges, from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast. Mr. O’Rourke was loved and respected by his shipmates and co-workers in the shipyards everywhere he worked. Mr. O’Rourke loved to read, and voraciously consumed novels, history, biography and technical manuals. He used the knowledge from those technical manuals to fix and improve everything including his mother in law’s sink and his friends’ car and boat engines. Mr. O’Rourke enjoyed visiting with friends and traveling with his wife to beautiful places near and far. He loved to spend time with his family, his nieces and nephews and his Border collie, Maggie. Mr. O’Rourke is survived by his loving wife, Mary E. O’Rourke and foster daughter, Elizabeth Ann MacConnell, his sister Julia O’Rourke, step-mother, Cynthia O’Rourke, his mother and father in-law, Mary and Thomas Heyman, and the entire Heyman family. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Saturday, December 31, 2016, at 11 am in St. James Chapel, 2079 Matunuck School House Road, Charlestown, RI 02812. Visiting hours are Friday, December 30, 2016, 4-7 pm in the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia Street, Wakefield, Rhode Island 02879. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cristo Rey New York High School, 112 East 106th Street, New York, NY 10029 or Mater Dei School, 9600 Seven Locks Road Bethesda, MD 20817.