Obituary of Peter "GP" O'Rourke

Peter “GP” O’Rourke passed away peacefully at the age of 85 on Monday, August 28, 2017 surrounded by his loving family. Born in County Cavan, Ireland he was the seventh of eight children to James and Bridget O'Rourke.  Peter immigrated to the United States in 1958 where he lived for many years in Hillsdale, NJ. Peter and his wife Bridget also spent many years in Cape Cod and Tarpon Springs, Fla and finally moved to Waldwick, NJ in 2015. Before Peter retired in 1995 he was a long time member of the NYC Carpenters Union Local #608. He was a parishioner of St. Elizabeth’s Church in Wyckoff, NJ, a member of the Knights of Columbus in Cape Cod, a member of the Holy Name Society at St. John the Baptist Church in Hillsdale, NJ and enjoyed golfing and rooting for the Mets.  Peter is survived by his loving wife of 57 years Bridget; five children: James O’Rourke, his wife Gina; Bernadette O’Rourke, Peter O’Rourke, his wife Brinn; Patricia O’Rourke; and Christine O’Rourke.  He was the adoring grandfather of Molly, Phoebe, Hannah, Amy, Heather, Cavan, Grace, Peter (PJ), Colm, Christian, Finnbar and Sydney. Peter is also survived by his three sisters: Anne Virgona, Rosetta Lynch and Bridget Guerin, and numerous loving nieces, nephews and friends. Peter embraced his Irish heritage and instilled a love of Ireland in his children and grandchildren.  He loved to entertain his friends and family with a story, joke or song.  He will be deeply missed. Receiving of Friends will be held on Friday, September 1, 2017 from 4 – 8 p.m. at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home, (vpfh.com), 257 Godwin Ave., Wyckoff. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at St. Elizabeth’s Church, 700 Wyckoff Ave., Wyckoff. Contributions in Peter’s memory may be made to The Family Pantry of Cape Cod, 133 Queen Anne Rd., Harwich, MA 02645 (thefamilypantry.com)