John Roche O'Dea (April 17, 1915 – June 6, 1998) was a business owner and politician in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. He represented St. John's South from 1959 to 1962 in the

Newfoundland House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Bu ...

as a member of the

United Newfoundland Party The United Newfoundland Party was the name of two conservative parties in Newfoundland. Pre-Confederation The first UNP was a conservative party in the Dominion of Newfoundland led by Frederick C. Alderdice from 1928 to 1934. It was organized by ...

Family

The brother of Fabian O'Dea, who served as

lieutenant governor of Newfoundland The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador () is the representative in Newfoundland and Labrador of the monarch, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada. The li ...

in the 1960s, John Roche O'Dea was the son of John V. O'Dea and May (Coady) O'Dea, he was born in St. John's and educated at

Saint Bonaventure's College St. Bonaventure's College (commonly called St. Bon's) is an independent kindergarten to grade 12 Roman Catholic Church, Catholic School in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, adj ...

, Loyola College and Memorial University College. O'Dea married Madeleine Connolly; the couple had five children, including

Brian O'Dea Brian O'Dea (born September 1, 1948) is a Canadians, Canadian businessman, author, television personality, and former drug smuggler. He is best-known for a large marijuana smuggling enterprise he masterminded in the mid-1980s. Set up to move mar ...

Life and career

He began work with Newfoundland Brewery Ltd in 1934, later becoming managing director and then becoming president in 1963. O'Dea founded the United Newfoundland Party with Augustine Duffy in 1959. He was elected to the Newfoundland assembly later that year; he was defeated in 1962 when he ran for reelection as a Liberal. Newfoundland Brewery had been taken over by

Molson The Molson Brewery is a Canada-based brewery based in Montreal and was established in 1786 by the Molson family. In 2005, Molson merged with the Adolph Coors Company to become Molson Coors. Molson Coors maintains some of its Canadian operati ...

and, in 1968, he established a new brewery, Atlantic Brewing Co., at Stephenville. O'Dea was named chair of St. John's Metro Board in 1971. O'Dea died in St. John's on June 6, 1998.

References

1915 births 1998 deaths Businesspeople from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador United Newfoundland Party MHAs 20th-century members of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly {{Newfoundland-politician-stub