FINDLAY — “He had a presence. A magnetic presence.”
There were plenty of comments to go around between colleagues, friends and family that attended a celebration of life held to honor Michael Oxley at Winebrenner Theological Seminary in Findlay Friday.
As his son, Elvis Oxley has plenty of fond memories of his father himself. However, when asked the No. 1 thing he will remember about his father, his presence was what stood out most.
“He had an ability like nobody I have ever known,” Elvis Oxley said. “When he walked in a room, he had the ability to turn heads. They were eager to see him, and he was just as eager to see them.”
Michael Oxley, who died Jan. 1, was a U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 4th district for 25 years. He died in his sleep after a battle with non-small cell lung cancer.
Friends spoke of his ability to cross the aisle and try to get things done. That ability was noted, as liberal Barney Frank recalled working with Oxley with fondness, speaking of the Findlay native’s humor.
As well as spending the majority of his career in the political arena, Oxley was also noted for his love of sports. He liked to speak of his basketball playing career at Findlay, and Senator Rob Portman joked about it.
“He always bragged about his basketball playing days at Findlay,” Portman said, “how good he was. I remember running into someone one day that said he was Michael’s basketball coach. He didn’t remember it that way.”
Dr. Jim Robertson, a childhood friend of Oxley’s, recalled the Oxley home as being the center of activity in the neighborhood since they owned a Ping Pong table and a paved basketball court. He told the large crowd about the famous “beanshooter war” that took place in a five-block area that ended up at the Oxley home. One team shot beans from the roof and out the windows of the Oxley home with the other team aiming up at their opponents.
“I remember his dad always thought it was weird that bean sprouts kept growing up out of the weeds,” Robertson said.
Allan Davis, another childhood friend, remembered Oxley’s wedding. Oxley had worked for the FBI prior to becoming a Congressman.
“I remember most of the people invited to his wedding were from the FBI,” Davis said, “and I was one of the few not packing heat. “You could hear all of the guns clanking on the church pews.”
Congressmen Pat Tiberi and Bob Latta remembered working with Oxley, and how they had become better elected officials because of him.
Despite his love of lawmaking and sports, Oxley was a family man first.
“He thought the best advice he ever received was from Rep. Jack Betts,” Elvis Oxley said. “He said, ‘you can spend every week on an airplane or move to D.C. He made the right choice and moved us to Washington D.C. He was always able to make time for family.”
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