John P. O’Rourke

11/23/1925- 8/6/2024

John Patrick O’Rourke, age 98 and among the last of the Greatest Generation, died peacefully at home on August 6, 2024.  He grew up in Queens during the Great Depression and enlisted in the US Navy at age 17 during the Second World War. The Navy sent him to Dartmouth College and the College of the Holy Cross to serve as an officer in the Pacific theater.  Lieutenant O’Rourke returned to civilian life after the war

and attended Fordham Law School on the GI Bill. He married Marguerite (Peggy) Langley in 1953, began practicing law in Jamaica, Queens and purchased a home near the Levittown-Hicksville border in 1955.

John and Peggy remained in Levittown the rest of their lives, which revolved around family, friends and the Church.  They raised five children, Tim, Mary, Chris, Kathy and Harry, all of whom attended Holy Family School and Holy Trinity High School, and brought Peter Phung, a Vietnamese refugee, into their family as a teenager.

John was active in Holy Family Parish, having served as a trustee, finance committee, Emmaus group and Knights of Columbus member for many years.  He loved his family, words, jokes, and his work.  He touched the lives of thousands during his long legal career. 

Peggy died in 2009 and Mary, a social worker, died in 2021.  His other four children survive him and follow his career path as lawyers.  He is also survived by his ten grandchildren, Megan, Tiernan, Laura, Jenny, Lindsay, Kara, Aidan, Evan, Amanda and Maddie.