Death Notice For :
John R. "Jack" O'Mara

O'MARA - John R. "Jack" July 15, 2010, husband of the late Marie D (Roesser) O'Mara; father of Mary (James) Shea, Kathleen (Joseph) O'Connell, Edward J. (Donna) and John R. (Dorothy) O'Mara; brother of the late Alice (late Wallace) Heilbron, Edward J. (late Eleanor) O'Mara, Helen (late Carl) Day, Irene (late Vincent) Hynes and Jeanne (late Andrew) Smith; also survived by 22 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Vincent de Paul Church, 6441 Seneca St., Springbrook, NY, Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 10:00 AM, preceded by the Rosary at 9:40 AM. Friends invited. Memorial Contributions may be made to the Hospice Foundation 225 Como Park Blvd. Cheektowaga, NY 14227. Arrangements by John E. Roberts Funeral Home.

Published in the Buffalo News on July 18, 2010

John R. O’Mara, area’s oldest retired firefighter

Published in the Buffalo News Updated: July 20, 2010, 4:11 PM
Feb. 23, 1912—July 15, 2010

John R. O’Mara, the oldest retired firefighter in the area, died Thursday in ElderWood Health Care at Lakewood, Hamburg. He was 98.

Known as Jack, Mr. O’Mara was born in Buffalo and had worked in several occupations during his lifetime.

He was 12 when he got his first job—unpaid—making deliveries via horse and carriage for a grocery store. That job ended when he was fired for eating a cookie, according to his daughter, Mary Shea.

Mr. O’Mara also worked in the steel, automotive and railroad industries, for the U. S. Postal Service, as a roofing/siding salesman and as a stationary engineer for Buffalo Public Schools. He worked 38 years— from the late 1930s to the 1960s —as a Buffalo firefighter, including service aboard the Edward M. Cotter, the department’s fireboat.

He retired in 1972.

In 2008, Mr. O’Mara was recognized as the oldest life member of the Buffalo&Western New York Retired Firefighters Association.

He was a former president of South Shore Country Club, and his interests included photography and golf.

His wife of 68 years, Marie Roesser O’Mara, died in 2006.

Besides his daughter Mary, survivors include another daughter, Kathleen O’Connell, and two sons, Edward and John Jr.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a. m. Saturday in St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 6441 Seneca St., Spring Brook.

Funeral Program - July 24, 2010