Just A Wonderful Neighbor

Words and photo by F LoBuono

Friends, neighbors, will you allow me one last word on the passing of our brother, Paul O'Donoghue?

So much has been said already and, still, there is more to tell. But, I think one person's statement probably best sums up the relationship that Paul had to the Nyack community and how it embraced him in return.

When I wrote that the hundreds, if not thousands, of people filled Hanneman's Funeral Home in Nyack, most waiting for hours, was a testament to his memory, it elicited a wonderful response with many of Paul's friends sharing their own remembrances of him with us. However, perhaps, former Nyack mayor Terry Hekker expressed Paul's relationship to his hometown most perfectly:

Only in Nyack could there be such a huge turnout of mourners for a man who wasn't rich or famous. Just a wonderful neighbor.

It's why we live here. Rest well, our brother.