Georgia (Dolly) Anne Mershon O’Hare, 96, passed away peacefully on
April 17, 2020, in Marlow, Oklahoma, with family at her side.
Memorial services will be at 1:00 PM, April 2, 2022 at First United Methodist Church in Marlow. Burial will be in the Marlow Cemetery. All arrangements have been entrusted to Callaway-Smith-Cobb Funeral and Cremation Services in Marlow.
In 1907, Georgia’s maternal grandmother, Dolly Van Cleave, purchased
160 acres in the Fort Sill Wood Reserve west of Marlow and moved her
family there from Missouri. Georgia was born to Edna (nee Van Cleave)
and Vance Mershon at the family homestead on November 28, 1923.
Weighing only 3 pounds at birth, they nicknamed her Dolly after her
grandmother. She and her sister Polly grew up helping their parents on the
farm. They “walked a mile and three quarters” (as she was fond of saying)
to the Oak Lawn School through 8th grade and then caught the bus to
Marlow High. After high school, Georgia graduated from Cameron State
Agricultural College with an Associate in Science degree (1943), then
attended the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 1945 with a BA in
Library Science. She finished a second BA in Spanish at OU by
correspondence (1950). Her first job as a librarian was at the University of
Nevada in Reno, Nevada. From there she went to Missouri and worked as
a Bookmobile Librarian, performing outreach and bringing books to
communities across the region.
In 1951 she left Missouri to become a librarian with the U.S. Civil Service
and was initially stationed in Bad Nauheim, Germany. While there, she met
her future husband, Joe O’Hare from Brooklyn, New York, a U.S. Army
First Lieutenant also stationed in Germany. They married in April 1954 after
they both returned to the States. They lived in Norman while Joe attended
the University of Oklahoma School of Architecture, and then moved to
Valley Stream, Long Island, NY, ultimately settling in Midland Park, NJ, in
1965.
Georgia became a single mother with 2 children still at home when Joe lost
his battle with cancer in 1978. In 1991, after more than 25 years in Midland
Park, where she developed strong bonds in the community and many great
friends, she retired back to her roots and lifelong friends in Marlow.
Never one to sit idle, Georgia was involved in many activities. In New
Jersey, she was employed for one year as the first elementary school
librarian in Midland Park. She was also a Sunday school teacher with the
Midland Park United Methodist Church, a member of the Friends of the
Midland Park Library, and she played in a weekly community bowling
league (her team was two time champions!). When she moved back to
Marlow, she founded the Tat and Chat Club at the Garland Smith Library
so she could learn to tat and meet new friends. She was also a member of
the Friends of the Garland Smith Library, the First United Methodist
Church, United Methodist Women, the Neighborly Club, and was a long-
standing Board Member of the Oak Lawn Community Center.
Survivors include son Michael (Joan) Descovich O’Hare of Westford,
Massachusetts, daughters Anne (John) Morris of Edmond, Oklahoma,
Margaret O’Hare (Peter van Noort) of Arlington, Texas, and Carolyn
(Steve) Shimoda of Houston, Texas; grandchildren Meagan (Joe) Stella,
Caitlin Descovich O’Hare (fiancé Nathan Berner-Potts), Kerianne (Sameer)
Hasan, Jennifer (Seth) Collier, Brian (Katherine) Morris, Laura (Tyler)
Young, Christopher Morris, Hilary van Noort, Nathan van Noort, Erin
Shimoda, Kelsey Shimoda, and Lindsey Shimoda; great-grandchildren Lilly
and Claire Hasan, Levi, Benjamin and Henry Collier; sister Polly Pope of
Manhattan, Kansas; 11 nieces and nephews and many great-nieces and
nephews.
Georgia is preceded in death by husband Joseph Aloysius O’Hare, parents
Edna and Vance Mershon, and brothers-in-law Bill Pope, Bob O’Hare, and
Gene O’Hare.
Georgia was passionate about her family history, the local history of
Stephens County, her wildflowers, and her dogs. Consider local historical
societies, nature preserves, animal shelters, the Oak Lawn Community
Center, or the First United Methodist Church in Marlow if interested in
making a donation in her memory.
Online condolences may be made to www.CallawaySmithCobb.com