GRAND FORKS — John O’Leary is being remembered as an outstanding public servant, who was instrumental in Grand Fork’s recovery from the Flood of ‘97 and whose decisions at that time have had a lasting, positive impact.

O’Leary, who grew up in East Grand Forks, died Thursday, Nov. 27, in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was 79.

O’Leary served as head of the Grand Forks Housing and Urban Development department from 1984 to 2001. He also lived 20 years in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, and recently joined his daughters and grandchildren in Wilmington.

Todd Feland, Grand Forks city administrator, said O’Leary “truly was an iconic leader of the Grand Forks community.”

His leadership was “critically important in the aftermath of the Flood of ‘97,” especially in determining how more than $170 million

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