O’GARA, Mary Jane

Mary Jane O’Gara Dec 6, 1925 – Jun 14, 2016 Mary Jane O’Gara, age 90, of Omaha, Nebraska died on Tuesday, June 14, 2016 at Immanuel Fontenelle Home in Omaha. She was born on December 6, 1925 in Sterling, Illinois, to Edward O’Connell, a World War I veteran and postal worker, and Betty (Clapham) O’Connell, a Catholic school teacher. Despite pressure of the Great Depression to help support the family, Mary hoped for a college education and eventually was sponsored at Webster College in Missouri by the woman who owned the dairy where she worked. Eventually she transferred to the University of Missouri at Columbia and received her degree from the prestigious journalism school there. At the university she met and married another journalism school student who had returned to school from World War II, Hugh O’Gara. The couple were married in 1950 in Sterling in a double wedding with Mary’s sister, Pat O’Connell, and Hugh’s best friend, Jack O’Donnell. The ceremony made the headline in the local newspaper in what sounded like the opening of an Irish law firm, “O’Connell, O’Donnell & O’Gara Wed.” It was a marriage that lasted 49 years. When her husband’s work took the family to Omaha, Nebraska, Mary began working at the Omaha World Herald at the only position they would hire a woman for: the society page. From there, she went to work writing for the Omaha Public School District’s Title IX (antidiscrimination) Program. Next she was promoted into the district’s Public Information Department, eventually becoming the department’s assistant director. She co-authored the book, “The Child in the Middle” on learning disabilities with a Canadian expert, Dr. Doreen Kronick. After retiring from the school district, Mary transferred her energy to the Nebraska AARP and League of Women Voters. In 1999, because of her enthusiasm for the issues of the elderly, she was recruited to join the national AARP board of directors where she served a six-year term. On July 19, 2000, Mary testified before the U.S Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, chaired by Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., on the need for affordable housing for the elderly. When her husband, Hugh, retired in 1980 due to heart problems, she took charge of their new life, learning to cook healthy meals, getting him off Kentucky Fried Chicken and beginning an exercise program. They walked regularly and Mary was lifting weights and walking the treadmill into her 80s. Hugh died on July 9, 1999. Mary enjoyed gardening and transformed the backyard of their home into a garden and flower beds. At Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter she cooked elaborate holiday meals for family and friends. She oversaw a happy home with children, cats, dogs, parakeets, and the occasional hamster. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Hugh and sister, Pat. She is survived by sons: Hugh (Linda), Terry (Denise), and John; daughter, Bridget; grandchildren: Matt, Kimberly, Erin, and Glenn; brothers, Dan and Edward O’Connell. VIGIL SERVICE Sunday, June 19th at 4pm at the Bel Air Chapel ,12100 West Center Road, with family receiving friends from 2pm to 4pm at the chapel. MASS OF CHRISTIAN BURIAL Monday, June 20th at 10am at St. James Catholic Church, 9025 Larimore Ave. Interment, Resurrection Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Assistance League of Omaha or Alzheimer’s Association.

HEAFEY-HOFFMANN DWORAK & CUTLER BEL AIR CHAPEL 12100 West Center Road Omaha, Nebraska 68114 (402) 391-3900

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