OC Mayor Remembers John Staley

OCEAN CITY – The passing of long-time resort commission member John Staley was recognized this week.

Staley, a 27-year member of the planning and zoning commission and fixture in the resort community, passed away May 11 at his home in Ocean City.

In a council meeting Monday, Mayor Rick Meehan recognized Staley’s contributions to the town.

“John Staley is one of the finest men I’ve ever known and a true gentleman,” he said. “John loved Ocean City, and the reason I’m acknowledging this is because he served on the planning and zoning commission, I know for over 20 years and throughout a lot of changes in Ocean City. He was a real connection with the community on that board.”

For 27 years, Staley served on the planning and zoning commission, a body charged with reviewing and approving site plans, code changes, special exceptions and the like. The commission also plays an important role in the development of long-term comprehensive plans for Ocean City.

Meehan this week said Staley served on the commission at a time of great change for Ocean City. He also recognized his involvement in various civic organizations.

“He was just one of the true gentlemen that I’ve ever known, and a true gentleman of Ocean City,” he said.

Born in Dundalk, Md., Staley served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was employed by C&P Telephone for 35 years and retired in 1989.

Staley served in many capacities within the resort. In addition to being a devoted member of St. Luke’s Catholic Chuch, he was a past grand knight of the Knights of Columbus, an original member of the Delmarva Irish American Club, past president of the Worcester County Library, and past director of the Greater Ocean City Chamber of Commerce. He also served in various organizations such as the Lions Club, Elks, American Legion and VFW.

“John was probably a member of every local organization in town and at one time or another he was probably a leader of those organizations,” Meehan said.

For his active role in municipal government and local civic organizations, Staley was named the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 2007. He and his wife were also grand marshals in the 1995 and 2018 Ocean City St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

“We have a group of us that have lunch on Wednesdays every week, and somebody always picked John up so that he could join us,” Meehan added. “That was the highlight of his week, and we were honored that we had a gentleman like Mr. Staley join us. Thoughts and prayers with his family. God bless you, John. Thank you for everything.”

About The Author: Bethany Hooper

Alternative Text

Bethany Hooper has been with The Dispatch since 2016. She currently covers various general stories. Hooper graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 2012 and the University of Maryland in 2016, where she completed double majors in journalism and economics.