Patricia S O'Hara's Obituary
Patricia (Pat) Smith O'Hara (1935-2016) grew up in Pennington after moving here with her parents in 1938. Her father, Rudy Smith, served on Borough council in the 1940’s.After graduating from Eden Hall of the Sacred Heart,she attended Manhattanville College when she met and married F.J. ‘Pete’ O’Hara in the “Little Church” of St. James Parish in Dec. 1956.
Pat moved back to Pennington in 1961 after Pete served in the Marine Corps. She is a founding member of the local chapter of the League of Woman Voter's and of the Hopewell Valley Historic Association. In 1965, she became the first woman to be elected to the Pennington Borough Council. She served two terms until the end of 1969. In 1970, the family moved to Salt Point (Poughkeepsie) NY for 3 years. They returned in 1973. She was well known in women's athletics’, refereeing Field Hockey and Lacrosse and was on the board of the Pennbrook Swim Club. In the 80s, she became infamous for chasing bank robbers down Main St. and providing the information on her CB radio that led to their capture and arrest. Pat lived in 8 houses in Pennington: 123 King George Rd., 126 King George Rd., 9 Birch Ave., 413 Sked St., 105 Hession Hill Dr., 40 North Main St., 10 Weidel Dr. and 66 Woolsey Ct. Fifteen years ago, Pat and Pete fell in love with Dunedin, Fla and the Pinellas Trails and eventually move there full-time. In her professional career, Pat was the Zoning Officer in Hopewell Township for 14 years and in Pennington Borough for 2 years. Known as "Officer Friendly," she helped many applicants in getting building permits and zoning exceptions. Pat was a very active community volunteer; she was on the board of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK) and assisted in the fund raising and building of their home on Esher Street. Additionally, she was a Trustee of St. James Church and the Pennington Cemetery Association for many years.
Beyond the facts and figures, Pat was a force to be reckoned with. She was the perfect cocktail of German/Irish DNA, raised with American optimism. She loved to be an organizer and to encourage friends and family to achieve their best and give back; she loved a good time at St. Patrick’s Day OHara Clan Reunions, dinner parties with her paddle, poker, and sailing friends and a Guinness or two; and she believed that hard work and integrity pays off.
Pat was intensely loyal, strong and a determined woman
• a dedicated wife to Pete for nearly 60 years, so proud of his Yale, Marine and IBM
accomplishments that you would think that she was the graduate, service-woman and employee
• a devout Catholic – sang in the choir, served on the St. James board, a vocal advocate for more
female leadership and loved her “interfaith soup and studies” for a chance to feel connected to all
people of faith around the world
• a rabid Yankee fan since the babe Ruth era, with an NY always tattooed on her hats, shirts and
socks; and a Trenton Thunder fan (triple A team); and
• a die-hard Republican but with best friends from the opposite side of the aisle
Pat was passionate and involved –
• playing a range of sports – golf, swimming, snorkeling/scuba, field hockey, tennis, paddle tennis,
cross country skiing, and BIKING….especially rail trail biking!;
• volunteering – Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, Hug a Preemie at Mercer Medical Center, F.I.S.H (Friends in Service Here of Hopewell Valley) and the Pinellas Trails bike trail
• being a proud parent to her five children often sharing her motherly love, advice and healthy food with their friends and her friends kids
• being a favorite grandparent to her 8 grandchildren, insisting on taking them each on their “10
year old trip” and being there for their sports, shows, and school milestones
• an aspiring farmer with gardens, barns, horses, sheep, goats, chickens, dogs and cats even if their property didn’t really accommodate it
• a can-do homemaker with a box of tools, paint brush and ambitious attitude to change everything
and do it herself!
• an extreme health nut proudly eating from her garden, banning sugar and salt from her kitchen and replacing them with honey, kelp, carob and vitamin C; and
• a world traveller to see her kids, be with her friends, and embrace the lifestyle of a lifelong learner
She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years "Pete", son Michael (& Laura) O'Hara; daughters, Maggie (& Karl) Swanke, Katie Ferguson, Molly O'Hara and Ann (& Scott) Hedges; grandchildren Lyssa (& Eric) Horvath, JP Ferguson, Sarah Swanke, Sam Swanke, Hope Swanke, Declan Ferguson, Janet Hedges and Jordan Hedges; brother Peter (& Rebecca) Smith and nephew Karl (& daughter Tara), niece Susannah Smith; brother-in Law Mark (& Sara) O'Hara; sister-in laws Bridget (& Roger) Walling and Duane O'Hara; nephews Mark O'Hara and Mike (& Christine, Katie, Jack) O'Hara, and niece Michelle O'Hara (& Jeremy, Caden, Ben) Levin. Pat is predeceased by her parent's Rudolf and Geraldine Smith.
A celebration of her life and legacy is planned for Saturday, May 14th : Memorial Mass at 11am (St James“little” Church) and Reception at 12pm (St James “God’s gym”) in Pennington.
Donations in her honor should be sent to: TASK (http://www.trentonsoupkitchen.org/)
OR Pinellas Trails Inc., P.O. Box 356, Clearwater Florida 33757-0356.
A service will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes in Dunedin, Florida on Friday, April 15th at 11:00 AM.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (http://www.trentonsoupkitchen.org/tribute-memorial-gifts.php) or the Pinellas County Volunteer in Parks Pinellas Trail Fund (http://www.pinellastrails.org/)
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