The man whom many credit with making Christian Brothers Academy what it is today, Brother Andrew O’Gara, died on Nov. 8.
Brother Andrew O’Gara Brother O’Gara, FSC, 80, passed away at the community residence at Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft.
According to people who knew him, he left his mark on every person who set foot on the CBA campus.
“I think for anyone who has graduated, Brother Andrew was CBA,” CBA basketball coach Geoff Billet said. “He was one of the first people you met freshman year and was the first to know you, your name and your family. By November of each year he knew everyone.”
Billet, a former student and star basketball player for the school, came back to his alma mater 13 years after graduating to take over the basketball program and work in the marketing department.
“When I heard that the coach [Ed] Wicelinski was retiring, I called Brother Andrew and he said to me that if I wanted the job, it was mine,” Billet said. “I am very, very happy to be back here and I owe it to Brother Andrew in helping me throughout the years and putting me in my situation where I am today.”
MATTHEW PETTERCHAK Above: Archived photo of Brother Andrew O’Gara (center) as recipient of the Irishman of the Year award; (l-r) Monsignor Andrew Cusach, O’Gara, and Pat Sheridan; (back row) Tom Carey and Pat Maloney. Left: O’Gara in 1984 during his tenure as principal of CBA. He later was named president of the academy. Billet said that even after graduating, he would come back to the academy and the first person he would visit would be Brother O’Gara.
“He helped me develop throughout high school so that I could succeed in college,” Billet said. “For me to come back here 13 years later, it shows how he respected you as a person.”
Billet said that his brother also attended the academy and that O’Gara had developed a close relationship with his family over the past 10 years.
“My family has been a part of CBA for over a decade and he has been in touch with all of us,” Billet said. “He has been someone that my family has come to know.”
CBA Director of Advancement Garry Koch said he knew O’Gara for many years and sees him as “a representation of what CBA is today.”
“Andrew really was the embodiment of what someone thinks of as a Christian brother,” Koch said. “He was a man who followed his Christian beliefs and was a gregarious and thoughtful man.”
O’Gara became the first president of Christian Brothers Academy in 1991, a position he held until his death. Prior to that appointment, Brother Andrew had been principal of CBA since 1979.
Brother Andrew’s 30 years at CBA were a time of unprecedented growth and major capital campaigns transformed the appearance of the school, according to the school Web site.
During O’Gara’s time, a second gymnasium, a theater, state-of-the-art science laboratories and new computer facilities were added at the academy.
Four new soccer and lacrosse fields bear his name at this time.
“He was a shrewd administrator,” Koch said. “He took CBA and put it on the map.”
Koch said that O’Gara, in his 30 years at the academy, helped make CBA what it is today.
“His legacy at CBA is connected to his vision,” Koch said. “He oversaw two major building expansion programs. He drove to make CBA a realistic place for young men to attend and learn.”
A native of the Bronx, John O’Gara left home to study at the Christian Brothers high school novitiate in Barrytown, N. Y.
In 1946, he received the habit of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the religious name Brother Andrew of Mary. After studies at Catholic University and Manhattan College, Brother Andrew served as teacher and administrator at La Salle Academy, New York City, and Lincoln Hall Catholic Protectory for Boys.
In 1966, he was appointed principal of St. Raymond High School for Boys in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, a post he held for 13 years prior to his transfer to CBA where he spent the last three decades of his career.
He had an all-but-photographic memory for names and faces, according to Koch.
It was reliably believed in most of his administrative assignments that he knew the name of every student in the building, a memory feat he could demonstrate years later.
“He remembered everyone’s names, and that’s not an exaggeration,” Koch said. “A lot of people around here have personal moments with him. Everyone was his friend.”
O’Gara was famous for his warm Irish laugh and engaging manner.
“He had the stereotypical Irish personality and wit,” Koch said. “He made you feel special as he was such a positive person.”
O’Gara was predeceased by a sister, Sister Mary Theresa O’Gara, SMR (Society of Mary) and is survived by a brother and sister in-law, James and Barbara O’Gara; a sister and brother-in-law, Catherine and John Callahan; and several nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Nov. 13 at Christian Brothers Academy.
Billet said that in a final tribute, O’Gara’s casket was carried throughout the building at CBA.
“To see all of the students lined up throughout the building really was a tremendous send-off,” Billet said. “He spent the last 30 years of his life here and it’s a strong dedication to the man to have his body carried throughout the place he cared so much about.”