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Robert J. O'Dell, 90, Former Briarcliff Manor Resident

Robert J. O’Dell, a former longtime resident of Briarcliff Manor, died Friday, March 24, in Freehold, N.J. He was 90.

Robert J. O'Dell, a former Briarcliff Manor resident and graphic designer, died Friday, March 24. He was 90.

Robert J. O'Dell, a former Briarcliff Manor resident and graphic designer, died Friday, March 24. He was 90.

Photo Credit: Contributed

O’Dell, a well-known art director and graphic designer, was a resident of North Hanover, N.J.

The Wisconsin native was born in 1926 to the late Alvin and Jenny O’Dell. The family later moved to Wellsboro, Pa.

O’Dell served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1944 to 1945. He graduated four years later from Pratt Institute with a degree in fine arts.

He and Louise A. Augustine were married in 1951.

O'Dell had a long career in the commercial art field and held several posts as an art director for Look Magazine, House and Garden, and The New York Times. He was also a founder and principal of KFO, a New York City-based advertising agency. He eventually opened his own graphic design firm, Robert J. O’Dell Inc., which he ran for more than 20 years with his son Edward.

For most of his working life, O’Dell had lived in Briarcliff Manor.

He also was a talented pastel artist and had several exhibitions in galleries both in Manhattan and Westchester.

When he retired, he and his wife moved to Seabrook Island, S.C., where he became an art director for a local newspaper.

O'Dell also designed stained glass windows for a church in Seabrook Island.

He was an avid bicyclist and golfer.

The O’Dells moved back to New Jersey in 2014.

He is survived by his wife, Louise; children Robert Kirk, Thomas Scott, Sandra Sherant, Linda Louise, and Edward Patrick; daughters-in-law Wendi and Melissa O’Dell; grandchildren Alexandra, Megan, Ian, Ryder, and Dallas; brothers Jack and Jerome; and a sister, Donna Merrill.

A Mass of Christian Burial was held on Monday, March 27, at the Church of the Assumption in Wrightstown N.J.

Burial will be held at a later date at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown N.J.

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