Born to Build Blog

Kelly Boston fondly recalls the excitement from her and her sister Janelle Boston Fanning when their father built them the clubhouse they’d been begging for as children.

“He also constructed several sheds around the house for farm equipment and tools, and he built our brick family home in 1986,” Kelly says. “My dad is a very self-taught man when it comes to construction, and he is very particular about the construction process every inch of the way.  Even though he didn’t make a living in the construction industry, I could tell it was something he was passionate about.”

Twelve years ago this summer, O’Shea Builders’ biggest fan and some say its toughest advocate passed away. That was Helene O’Shea, Bud’s first wife and mother of David, Maureen, Linda, and Mike.

Bud met Helene after high school through a local group for Catholic youth. The group had regular social events like picnics and dances. At one dance, it was Helene’s birthday and Bud requested the song “The Old, Gray Mare” be played for her. She was always fondly teasing him and he returned the favor. It worked. “That was the start of us,” Bud says.

Everything.

At O’Shea, our word -- or our promise - is how we measure our work and ourselves. It’s a value that originated with Bud O’Shea’s grandfather and O’Shea founder, John Timothy O’Shea, more than 100 years ago. He started the business in 1900 when he listed himself in the Springfield City Directory as a “contractor.”

As Austin Barton was growing up, dirt bikes were the ideal mode of transportation on his family’s farm in Nebo, Ill.

“I started riding at six years old; it was the best way to get around the farm,” he says. “I got bigger bikes as I grew older and eventually I started racing them when I was 15. I raced throughout high school and college.”

Mike Sunley, senior project manager, really was “born to build.” As long as Mike can remember, he knew the construction industry was for him. “I grew up with tools and always had an interest in building and improving things, so when I was in kindergarten, I said I wanted to be an architect.”

But his dream of being an architect was short lived for young Mike. Instead of designing facilities, Mike decided he wanted to build them. Since Mike is the third generation of his family to work in the construction industry, he knew where to go to learn about the industry.