Ariel E. Follett O’Hara, 86, died on April 11, 2023, in Deerfield. Born on April 10, 1937, in Oak Park, she was an alumna of Oak Park and River Forest High School and Brown University. Passionate about politics, she supported up-and-coming political candidates from her earliest days in Oak Park to her retirement years in Deerfield and was a voracious reader of all things political and historical, especially the Civil War and World War II. She loved working in the travel industry as a travel agent, ultimately planning and escorting trips abroad, and especially cherished her time in Antarctica, China, Israel, and Russia, among others. Upon retirement, she split her time among family and friends in Chicago, southwestern Michigan and Sanibel, Florida. She delighted in traveling the world, sharing her passion to explore and learn with her children and grandchildren.
Ariel O’Hara was preceded in death by her parents, Dwight W. and Mildred Johnson Follett; her husband, Theodore R. Scott Jr.; and her beloved daughter, Alison O’Hara Barasa. She is survived by her children, Keith (Dena), Julie, and John (Amy), as well as her 17 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren; her brother, Robert J.R. Follett; her sister, Nancy Follett Waichler, and many nephews and nieces.
Services will be held on Friday, June 2, 2023, at 3 p.m., at Kelley and Spalding Funeral Home, 1787 Deerfield Road, Highland Park. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Oak Park and River Forest High School – Ariel E. Follett O’Hara ’55 Scholarship Fund, Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, 1049 Lake St., Suite 204, Oak Park, IL 60301.
For info or directions, please contact Kelley & Spalding Funeral Home at 847-831-4260.
