Lt. Colonel Leo K. O'Drudy, Jr., USMC Retired

Lt. Col. Leo Kearney Starr O’Drudy, Jr., United States Marine Corps (retired), of Vienna, Virginia, passed away on June 29, 2024, at Fairfax Hospital. He was 91.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 52 years, Caitríona; his son Leo III; his daughters Caoilfhionn and Éadaoin; his grandsons Liam, Lochlann, and Seán; and his granddaughter Nóra. He will be missed by many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews scattered across the U.S., Ireland, and continental Europe, and especially by his niece Dawn with whom he had a special bond. Further, he is survived by many in-laws, including his son-in-law Lawrence, daughter-in-law Tricia, brother-in-law Eoin (Dublin, Ireland), and sisters-in-law Mary (Dublin, Ireland), Eithne (Paris, France), Mary (Petersburg, West Virginia), and Mary (Westport, Ireland). Leo’s sister Adelaide predeceased him in 2012 and his brother Arthur predeceased him in 2021.

The wake will be held from 4:00-7:00 PM on Thursday, July 11 at Money & King Funeral Home, 171 Maple Avenue W, Vienna, Virginia 22180. The funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 AM on Friday, July 12 at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, 9970 Vale Road, Vienna, Virginia 22181. Internment at Arlington National Cemetery will follow on a future date.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Fisher House Foundation https://fisherhouse.org/

Born on June 12, 1933, in New York City, Leo spent his childhood in Brooklyn’s Flatlands neighborhood, until, in his teens, his parents, Leo Sr., and Cecil moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where the family has deep roots. Later, the family settled in Alexandria, Virginia. After graduation from Mount St. Mary’s, Emmitsburg, Maryland, Leo studied law, ultimately earning law degrees from Villanova, University of Virginia, and George Washington University.

As a young man, Leo enlisted in the Marines, later accepted a commission, and enjoyed a full and varied 30-year USMC career, serving in the U.S., Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.

Following his deployment in Okinawa, Japan, and upon his retirement from the USMC, Leo moved with his wife and children to the Lakevale Estates neighborhood in Vienna, Virginia in 1981 where they resided ever since.

A man of wide-ranging scholarly interests, Leo’s research made notable discoveries about the family’s history and heritage. As an Irish American born with the surname Drury, he learned that the original family surname is O’Drudy (Ó Draoda in Irish), so he rectified his name. He also discovered that he was descended from Patrick Kearney, an Irish American USMC veteran of the U.S. Civil War who, as a Washington D.C. police officer, captured the assassin of President James Garfield.

In his role as a professor of real estate law, his students so appreciated the vivid wit he brought to an often-dry topic, that they presented him with a compilation of recorded excerpts: “O’Drudy’s Greatest Hits.” One time, after class concluded, they gave him a standing ovation.

Leo’s love of the Marine Corps, U.S. history, and Ireland resulted in his amassing an impressive library on these topics. A voracious reader, he was customarily to be found by family and friends in his favorite chair by the living room window, devouring volume after volume. In addition to books on his favorite topics, he enjoyed classic films, the ocean, and chocolate ice cream.

He will live on forever in our hearts.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh sé.