Dorothy O'Gara

Dorothy Grace O'Gara was born on a family farm in Storm Lake, Iowa on January 31st, 1925. The 3rd of 4 children, she was particularly adept at making pets of farm animals and plugging her brother's watermelons. After surviving the austere life of a farm girl during the Great Depression, she got her first job as a soda jerk at a local ice cream parlor where her boss relayed that, "She's a good worker, but she sure can eat ice cream!" At 17, she entered Mount Saint Clare College and majored in pranks and hijinks, highlighted by dousing the mother superior with a bucket of water! She and her best friend, Mary Catherine, also broke curfew to go see Gene Kelly perform at the local Army hospital where Dorothy worked part-time. When her parents left farming and moved to San Diego in 1944, she decided to tag along. Obtaining employment as a stenographer at various businesses, she won a city-wide contest for typing the most error-free words per minute (something around 160 on a manual typewriter!). One of her employers was the local FBI office where she met the love of her life, Carl O'Gara. They were married on March 31st, 1951 in Boston as Carl was recalled to the Navy for the Korean War. Soon after, she gave birth to her first child, Mary, followed by John and Michael in subsequent years. She spent her first 13 years of marriage in San Diego where they purchased a home and she helped Carl earn his degree at San Diego State. With the degree, Carl became a Special Agent with the FBI which led them to Montana and then Michigan in 1966. Although Dorothy enjoyed the friendly Midwest people, she was not a fan of the cold, grey winters. They finally returned to California after 13 years away completing Carl's career and entering retirement in 1984. Dorothy was a devout Catholic, part-time bowler, and avid gardener. She distributed more food to family, friends, pets, and stray animals than Walmart, admonishing everyone to eat with all the zeal of an Italian grandma despite her Irish pedigree. She reveled in her children's, grandchildren's, and great-grandchildren's accomplishments. Seldom spending money on herself, she was happiest when around family. She developed a reputation for avoiding any attempts to capture her on film, rivaling Bigfoot in the number and quality of photos. Occasional rumors that science had listed her head among earth's hardest substances, or supposed links with the IRA have been largely refuted. In all seriousness, she was a devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother who we are sure will continue to intercede for us from her heavenly home. We'll miss you, Dotty, but we take comfort in knowing you're reunited with Pop in Christ's kingdom. She was preceded in death by her siblings John ('98), Sister Mary Aloise ('06), Don ('24), and her husband Carl ('16). She is survived by her children (Mary, John-Amy, Michael-Nan), grandchildren (Jennifer-Justin, Patrick, Hannah-Austin, Tim-Aspen, Connor-Courtney, and Jack), and her great-grandchildren (Braeden, Dallas, Jace, Brody, and Madilynn).

Dorothy O'Gara

January 31, 1925 - May 17, 2026