A memorial service was held at Christ Church in Warwick at 3 p.m. on December 4, 2002 to commemorate the life of John McCulloch, past president of Onions Bouchard & McCulloch, now OBM Limited. Mr. McCulloch passed away on November 7, 2002 in Miami, Florida.

Born in Maybole in the Parish of Ayreshire, Scotland on January 6, 1923, Mr. McCulloch attended Edinburgh College of Art and was awarded his Diploma in Architecture by the Royal Institute of British Architects. One of his first jobs was in the Dominican Republic where he lived almost three years in charge of the construction of the initial stages of the famous Columbus Memorial Lighthouse. He then returned to Scotland and in 1953, moved to Bermuda to be engaged by the firm of Onions & Bouchard. Quickly proving his ability, McCulloch was offered the position of associate in 1955 and in 1958, was made a partner. Following the death of Wilfred Onions in 1959, in recognition of Mr. McCulloch's business acumen, Valmer Bouchard changed the name of the firm to Onions, Bouchard & McCulloch; the firm is now widely known as OBM International Limited.

Mr. McCulloch established high goals for his personal achievement and equally high standards for the firm's staff. Under his exacting direction, the firm grew in stature, moving away from the legacy of the masterful residential architectural achievements of Onions, which had been staple commissions for 30 years. By 1964, the firm was led by McCulloch and commissions had become more commercial than residential.

In the late 1960's, while travelling to several islands with friends Ernest Vesey, Bill Kempe Chet Butterfield, John Butterfield and Bob Gray, he saw opportunity in the Caribbean. He opened the first overseas office of OBM (as the firm became known) in Road Town, Tortola in the British Virgin Islands in 1967. Over the next twenty years, offices were opened in the Cayman Islands, St. Martin, Antigua, Turks & Caicos Islands and St. Kitts.

As an architect, his achievements are recognised in Bermuda in the Bank of Bermuda Head Office Building on Front Street, the Bermuda Fire & Marine Insurance Building on Pitts Bay Road and St. Patrick's Church on South Shore Road, Smith's Parish.

Throughout the Caribbean, he had a hand in many of the firm's designs. Tourism and international business were moving to the Caribbean coincident to the establishment of OBM's overseas offices. Mr. McCulloch had anticipated the value of being there to service their architectural requirements. His philosophy was "follow the money" and this prospered the fortunes of OBM.

He was the "architect" of the business development for OBM, creating a firm of diverse architectural design offices and travelled eight months of the year to support his vision. He enjoyed managing OBM and educated many young architects in the business of the profession. In 1987, he stepped down as president of OBM but remained a consultant, continuing his travel rounds of the offices until his retirement in 1991.

The firm of OBM, as he left it, had even greater potential. He wanted a closer base from which to operate the island offices and his dream of having an office in Miami was realised in 1998.

OBM employees remember him as a man who achieved his objectives with a single-minded determination that equalled the level of his success and gained him great respect in his profession. Yet in the matter of business, he was also concerned with the welfare of his staff. Not being a father himself, "We were his children", said B.W. Jordy Walker, chairman, OBM International Limited. Mr. McCulloch's OBM family has inherited a great legacy, having had the opportunity to work for a company where they learned how to organise and run a small business in many different regions. Furthermore, their individual architectural skills flourished as they worked on a variety of different projects - all of this in many of the world's most desired locations. What more could a young architect want and what better legacy to leave behind?

John McCulloch married the former Janet Emslie in 1955. While the majority of his time was consumed by his work and associated travel, after retirement Mr. McCulloch became involved with several local charities, most notably the Salvation Army where he was on the advisory board and was one of their major fund raisers. He also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Westmeath Residential and Nursing Home and where he also was a principal fundraiser. Mr. McCulloch was also on the Board of the Bermuda Maritime Museum for several years, also raising capital on their behalf.

Married for 47 years, during his retirement , Mr. McCulloch designed a vacation home which the couple had built in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and where they spent much of their time, when not residing in Bermuda.