2 Years After Son's Death, Oak Forest Family Keeps His Name, Passion For The Trades Alive

OAK FOREST, IL — An Oak Forest couple heartbroken by the death of their son in a construction site accident is funneling their grief into good, with the hope of seeing his name live on.

June 6 marked two years since David O'Donnell died when scaffolding at the University of Chicago failed on a day with high winds, sending the technical engineer plummeting more than 100 feet.

The passionate and skilled engineer had opted not to attend college, instead joining the construction industry in the Technical Engineer Division of Local 130, where he worked alongside his father at his family's business. There, he was "an exceptional employee that showed up for work every day on time and was ready to go," his family described.

"He was the man for the task," dad David said. "He went to work, worked really hard, impressed a lot of people. His death was really felt by a lot of people—still, and always will be."

The grief still feels just as fresh as in the first days.

"It’s just tough living without him," said David. "It's heartbreaking."

"It’s hard to talk about still," said mom Christine. "It seems like it just happened yesterday."

O'Donnell's name made headlines in the Chicago area in the days immediately after and then later, with the $23.5 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against the companies involved in the accident.

Last month, his name reverberated differently, as the family awarded the first scholarships on behalf of the organization in his name—the David Patrick O'Donnell Foundation—$42,000 in funds distributed to 16 Oak Forest High School graduates. O'Donnell attended the District 228 school, as did his brother, parents, aunt and uncle.

"A lot of us have been part of Oak Forest High School our entire lives," his dad said.

"Even though it was daunting ... it was Dave’s mission," said Christine, of the foundation. "He made it happen. He surrounded himself with the right people."

The funds represented the largest donation of scholarships given by one organization in the school's history, according to the organization's website.

"We’ll never forget him, but we do want students and worthy charities to get to know his name very well," said Christine.

"We didn’t know all these kids," David said of the recipients. "Originally we were going to give six $3,000 awards, but we gave more because we felt like they were deserving."

The scholarship funds were amassed by both seed money from the couple and $50,000 raised in the inaugural David Patrick O'Donnell Foundation Golf Outing. The grief of the first year after their son's death was crushing—at times almost unbearably so—with efforts like the foundation, golf outing and scholarship becoming ways to buoy their spirits.

"When it first happened, I was in shock, we were in shock," David said.

"We have three other sons, we would all stay strong for them, as a family," Christine said. "We said we'd get through this together, and we have."

The golf outing, specifically, was a nod to his son's growing love of the game.

"He had become a very avid golfer, golfed with a lot of his friends," David said. "After he died, I knew I had to do something to keep his name out there. Having a golf outing was my first thing."

In addition to the scholarships, the couple made a remarkable $85,000 donation to Oak Forest-based Project Fire Buddies. Started in 2016, the nonprofit engages volunteers from local fire departments to rally around children battling critical illness and their families. The organization partners with local chapters to bring comfort, fun, support and companionship to their "fire buddies." The now not-so-small and very mighty organization has expanded to more than 175 chapters in more than a dozen states. The nonprofit's 1,200+ volunteers have impacted more than 750 children, with $5 million gifted to support and uplift families, according to its website.

The foundation's donation was the largest the organization has ever seen.

"One charity we knew we could trust," David said. "Under our foundation bylaws, we’re allowed to give to scholarships and families in crisis. We heard founder Kurt DeGroot talking on a podcast one day—he announced what their largest foundation was, $80,000. I said I wanted to be their biggest donor that year, in David’s name."

“Dave and Chrissy O’Donnell are incredible people and close family friends to Kelly and I,” said DeGroot. “They have supported Project Fire Buddies from the very beginning, and they have always believed in our mission and the families we serve.

“When the tragedy happened to their son David, our hearts were completely broken for them. David was such a sweet, kind, and giving young man. Our family was blessed to know him personally, and I will always remember him and his brothers wrestling with our oldest son, Kurtis.

“At last year’s gala, Dave and Chrissy made an unbelievable $85,000 donation in David’s honor. It was the single largest donation in Project Fire Buddies history. For that donation, and that record, to be held in David’s name is something that means more to us than I can put into words.

“Because of David, Dave, Chrissy, and their entire family, we are able to give so many more good days to children and families battling pediatric critical illness. Their strength, love, and generosity continue to carry David’s legacy forward, and it is an absolute honor for Project Fire Buddies to be part of that legacy.”

'We're doing our best'

Emotion sits just on the surface as they speak about their son.

"The first year was very distracting for us," Christine said. "It was difficult and unbearable. Some days you wake up and the pain is so bad, you wish you were dead. The pain is so intense."

They found Compassionate Friends, a grief group that provides highly personal comfort, hope and support to every family experiencing the death of a son or a daughter, a brother or a sister, or a grandchild, and helps others better assist the grieving family.

There, they connected with other parents who had lost children.

"We met a lot of parents, a lot of them informed us that the second year is the worst," Christine said. "Once we got past the first year, the 'hoopla' was gone."

Roughly 1,000 people attended O'Donnell's visitation, and the family was wrapped in support and comfort.

"There was a lot of support for us after this happened," David said. "It just showed that a lot of people cared and loved him."

But time marched on, even though they felt frozen in grief.

They describe O'Donnell as a "very good guy, very good young man. Caring, responsible person, loyal friend."

Not a minute goes by that we are not thinking of him and his beautiful smile and infectious laugh. David was a wonderful son, a great brother, a hard worker, a considerate young man, and a loyal and compassionate friend.

—the family of David O'Donnell, 27, according to the foundation's website

"Just when he matured into a fine young man, we lose him," Christine said.

He loved competing in sports—baseball, football, and wrestling, specifically—working out, listening to music, reading and spending time with his large group of friends

"He was always hardworking," David said. "If he said he was going to do something, he did his best. When he was a young kid, he would do projects around the house without even being asked, which I don’t think kids are like that. He was not a lazy kid, he loved sports. Made friends very easily. Not the most talkative person in the world, but he touched a lot of people."

O'Donnell dreamed of working for and alongside his father even when he was a child.

"It started out when he was a young kid," David said. "You ask your kids, 'What do you want to do when you grow up?' He would always say—as an 8-year-old—he would say, 'I’m gonna work for you.'

"He was a good student, could have gone to college anywhere he wanted to go. He said, ‘I think you’d be wasting your money, you should just give me a job already.’"



The two worked together on several large skyscrapers in downtown Chicago, and David loved every minute.

"He would post pictures of himself on top of these buildings, with the sun coming out," David said. "He loved what he did."

They hope that O'Donnell's passion and pride in his career light the way for others who might not feel drawn to a traditional college path.

"I think the trades are very important," Christine said. "We need good quality guys in the trades."

"Not everyone’s built for college," David said. "Some people like to work with their hands more. Tangible jobs where I wired this house, fixed the plumbing. At the end of the day, you can look at it. ... Support a family, get a pension. Through unions, great insurance, great pension, you can support a family—so that’s a good thing."

Their son's death was a result of poor guidance from the companies connected to the job, David said. The company assured workers the scaffold was safe to work on despite high winds. A second man, Jeffrey Spyrka, also fell and sustained "severe, life-altering physical and psychological trauma," according to the lawsuit filed in 2024. O'Donnell was the last to step onto the scaffold.

"It’s negligence that got him," David said. "The trades, they can be dangerous just like farming; you work around machinery, around heights—unfortunately, he was let down."

The family said they're going to continue their work to keep O'Donnell's name going strong through the foundation. The 2nd Annual David Patrick O'Donnell Foundation Golf Outing is set for Saturday, Sept. 26, at Green Garden Country Club. Registration is open online. Sponsorships are also still available.

Donations can also be made directly to the foundation through its website.

People often stop David and Christine to speak fondly of their son.

"We still run into people today who say they still have his Mass card on their fridge or bedside table," Christine said. "We love hearing those stories."

Plans for how they use the foundation's proceeds might evolve, they said, though they will contribute to it always.

"It’s only been a year, I really don’t know where it’s going to go," David said. "It depends how we feel. Everything now, is still a struggle, because of the sadness. We’re doing our best."

But they'll keep trying.

"We want to keep his name out there," David said. "I feel like he was well-loved, and he made an impact on a lot of people. In death, he’s going to impact more people."

Registration is open now for the 2nd Annual David Patrick O'Donnell Foundation Golf Outing.