O'Hara

Father Eugene P. O'Hara

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Father Eugene P. O'Hara, who served for 15 years at St. Angela Merici parish in the Bronx, died in the Bronx Aug. 2. He was 87.

He was a parochial vicar at St. Angela Merici from 1977 until his retirement in 1992.

Auxiliary Bishop Dennis J. Sullivan, vicar general, offered the Funeral Mass at St. Angela Merici on Aug. 6. Father James Sheehan, chaplain at Bronx Community College, was the homilist.

"Father O'Hara lived this beatitude especially well: ‘Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God,' " Father Sheehan said.

"He was a joyful priest…and he was a troubadour for Christ," he said. "He played the harmonica and would start every Mass with it, and he would get everybody to sing. He had a unique gift for getting people involved in the Church."

Other parishes where he served as parochial vicar were: St. Stephen's, Manhattan; St. Clement-St. Michael, Staten Island; St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Manhattan; St. John's, Kingsbridge, the Bronx; Our Lady of Mercy, Port Chester; Immaculate Conception, Staten Island; St. Matthew's, Hastings-on-Hudson; St. Paul's, Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and St. Joseph's-125th Street, all in Manhattan; and Immaculate Conception, Port Jervis.

He also was chairman of the East Harlem District of Catholic Big Brothers, 1954-1963.

Born in the Bronx, he studied for the priesthood at Cathedral College and St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie. He was ordained in 1945.

Surviving is a sister, Veronica Reynolds.

Burial was in St. Mary's Cemetery, Yonkers.

Father Eugene P. O'Hara