Bernard P. Hehir, Jr.

Bernard P. Hehir Jr. age 84 was a US Navy Veteran. He was the loving father of Elizabeth Christine Hehir and the late Murry Patrick Hehir

Dear brother of Elba (the late Zeke), James (Linda), the late Mary Catherine Roder (the late Nick), & the late Patricia Ann.

Dear Uncle and great uncle too many whom he cherished.

Preceded in death by his parents Bernard P. Hehir Sr. & Mary C. Hehir nee Hurley

Barney was born & raised on the northwest side of Chicago, Il. He graduated from St. Edward Elementary School & De Paul Academy High School before entering the US Navy in 1960. He served as a medical corpsman and was aboard the US USS Ticonderoga during the Gulf of Tonkin Incident which was a precursor to the Viet Nam war. While in the Navy he met and married Mary Elizabeth Joyce and they had two children Elizabeth Christine and Murry Patrick. Upon discharge from the Navy Barney embarked on a career in data processing which served him well and carried him into & thru the Y2K processing issues. Barney flew from the west coast to the east coast to work on data processing issues as was familiar with the old computer languages and was known as a “gray beard”. Barney is a 42 year member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and would meet regularly with his friends no matter where he was. He had a core group of buddies that he would get together with to repair and refurbish computers for special groups for their use. Barney never lost his love for open water as he took sever cruises with his friends and even sailed from Long Beach to Tahiti on a sailboat with a fellow navy officer that he had met. Quite the accomplishment as neither of them had attempted sailing & navigating such a long distance such as that before.

Somewhere along the line Barney picked up the bug to plant things perhaps from his grandfather Pat who grew potatoes in our backyard. Barney loved to grow things and he had to have a garden, two preferably. Barney could have opened a tomato stand he had so many tomato & pepper plants so he would give most of what he grew away but always had immense pleasure in bringing in his crops. In addition to his gardens Barney loved flowers and in front of his condo at Leisure World he has quite the floral arrangement that are in constant bloom complete with an assortment of roses. Their fragrance reaches out to you as you are walking up the walkway to greet you so as to let you know you are almost to Barney’s place. Should you ever get to Victoria, Canada you need to go to Butchart Gardens as that was and will always be one of Barney’s “Happy Places”. Another r one of his favorite “Happy Places” would of course be Disney Land and anyone who came to visit him would be brought along by him for a personalized tour of the park as he knew it intimately as he practically lived there. Why he never got a job there remains a mystery to the family. He was an active member of St Hedwig Parish attending mass, bible study, adoration, various activities and functions. If you happened to be visiting him and an activity overlapped with your stay he highly encouraged you to attend that church activity with him. Barney was a friend to many, someone that listened to what you had to say and encouraged you to do your utmost to better yourself, and above all, was always a friend.