Obituary of John Patrick Sears

John Patrick Sears, 79, died unexpectedly on March 26, 2020, in Miami, Florida. John was born on July 3, 1940, the son of the late James L. and Helen Fitzgerald Sears. He spent his childhood on a farm in the Town of Van Buren which had been in his family for over 100 years until his father was tragically killed in a barn fire in 1950. After skipping two grades he graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in 1956, majored in chemistry at The University of Notre Dame graduating in 1960 and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1963. After law school, he clerked for Judge Adrian P. Burke of the New York State Court of Appeals and then took a job with the law firm of Nixon Mudge Rose Guthrie & Alexander in New York City. He soon thereafter traveled around the country with Mr. Nixon in support of Republicans running for Congress in 1966, with an eye toward Nixon's running for President in 1968. After Mr. Nixon's election he served as Deputy White House Counsel for approximately nine months, leaving to teach at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University. After his stint at Harvard, he joined the law firm of Gadsby & Hannah in Washington, D.C. He then returned to politics, managing Ronald Reagan's presidential campaigns in 1976 and 1980 (until he was fired the day Reagan won the New Hampshire primary in 1980). ln the late 1970's, he also helped create the law firm of Baskin & Sears which he left in the mid 1980's to start his own firm so that he could continue his work helping the South African government end their system of apartheid peacefully. During his career in politics and in law he had the opportunity to travel both domestically and internationally, which he loved. He shared this love of travel with his family and took each grandchild on a two week trip to a place of their choosing. He was always motivated by love of country and had an abiding faith in its' people. He was a creative thinker, a brilliant strategist and a master negotiator. He was a person of substance and was always aware of the big picture. He was always generous and took care of his friends and family. John was predeceased by his wife Carol (Osborne) Sears, his sister Elizabeth O'Donnell Pringle Snow and his nephew Louis Fala. Surviving John are his sisters Mary Helen Sears and Eleanor Fala, his three children, James L. Sears of Easton, PA, Ellen S. (Peter) Rayhill of New Hartford, NY and Amy S. (Phillip) Nichols of Philadelphia, PA, his grandchildren, Julia, Hannah, Peter, Catherine, James and Edward Rayhill and Thomas, Hilyard and Browning Nichols, his nieces and nephews, Mary and Margaret Fala, and John, Michael, Peter and Mary Ann O'Donnell, and his dear friend, Deborah Kaufman. Arrangements will be private. ln lieu of flowers contributions can be made to the Christian Brothers Academy, 6245 Randall Road, Syracuse, NY 13214.