Obituary of Bernard Francis O'Gara, Sr.
Bernard Francis O’Gara, Sr., a loving husband and father, has passed away on Sunday, June 22, 2025.
Known as Brian to his family, and Bernie to everyone else, he was born in Orange, NJ, in March 1945, to Peter and Kathleen (nee McGarry) O’Gara. Bernard was raised in Orange, graduating from St. John’s School, and the Arts Student League in New York City. He went on to receive a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Montclair State University in 1999.
Bernard traveled the world as a young man, emigrating to Australia in 1965. After a couple of years of work, he decided to return home, hitchhiking through Southeast Asia for months before sailing on a tanker ship headed to California. Two weeks after he reached Orange, NJ, he received his draft notice for Vietnam. Bernard was a conscientious objector, and served as a medic in the U.S. Army from 1969 until 1971. Bernard was an avid photographer, focusing mostly on people, and he captured much of his travels on film. He became an accomplished artist, and transferred many of his photographic images to striking charcoal and watercolor portraits.
Bernard was blessed to meet Cecilia Byrne, and they married in 1972. Bernard became a professional firefighter for the Township of Orange. He retired as a Captain, and the family lived in West Orange and Ireland before settling in Caldwell in 1987.
Bernard loved fishing, singing and playing the guitar - especially fingerpicking the blues. A lifelong lover of the arts, literature, and film, he continued to develop his own artwork, making sketches on a small pad he kept in his pocket, frequently sharing his “Mined Faces” with his family and friends. All would attest to, in true Irish fashion, his legendary storytelling.
Bernard was predeceased by his brothers, John Joe and Peter O’Gara; and his sisters, Sally Kelleher and Catherine Prior. He is survived by his beloved wife, Celia; his children, Bernard F. O’Gara, Jr. and Christine O’Gara Mazzacca and her husband, Marc; his brother, Thomas O’Gara; his sister-in-law, Maisie O’Gara; his brothers-in-law, John Byrne and James Prior, Sr., and many special nieces, nephews, family and friends.
The services will be held at Codey Funeral Home, 54 Roseland Ave, Caldwell, NJ. Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family on Thursday, June 26, from 4-8 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 am in St. Aloysius R. C. Church, 219 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell on Friday, June 27. Cremation will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer’s Association or Wounded Warrior Project would be most appreciated. To share condolences or memories with the family, please visit CodeyFuneralHome.com.