Margaret O'Hara Obituary

O'Hara, Margaret

Margaret Frances O'Hara, 81, died on September 29, 2024, at home, of an apparent heart attack. She was a native of Denver, Colorado, but spent most of her adult life within walking distance of Lake Michigan, which she loved, on the North Side in Chicago. She will be greatly missed. A registered nurse, Margaret worked in healthcare over the course of a long career, at University of Colorado Hospital in Denver, and in Chicago at Columbus Hospital, the Visiting Nurse Association, the Cook County Department of Public Health, Rush University Medical Center and University of Chicago Medicine. She was a neurology case manager when she retired from UChicago Medicine in 2008. In retirement, Margaret was active in both the League of Women Voters of Chicago and the League of Women Voters of Illinois. She served on the board of the Chicago League, reporting on Cook County Board of Health meetings, among other activities. She was also a member of the Illinois League's issues and advocacy committee, and headed its health committee for several years. Margaret was a committed feminist, and believed passionately that every American has the right to affordable, comprehensive, effective medical care. She spent her life working to that goal. Margaret also cared for several years for her longtime friend, Monica Murtha, who died in 2022. Margaret was the second of four daughters of Edward F. O'Hara and Eileen V. O'Hearn O'Hara, both also Denver natives. Her parents predeceased her, as did her sisters Mary Ann (Steve) Holt and Ellen (Daniel) Holder, and nephews Robert Holder and Jeffrey Holder. She is survived by her sister Delia O'Hara (Ben Mindell), nephews Mark (Micki) Holt, Kevin (Natalie) Holt, nieces Julia Holt (Bill) Smiley, Ursula Holder, Nora Mindell, Maeve Mindell, and a number of great- and great-great-nephews and -nieces. Margaret was a graduate of Blessed Sacrament elementary school and St. Francis de Sales High School in Denver, and Marquette University's College of Nursing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She also obtained a master's degree in sociology from DePaul University in Chicago. Donations are welcome to the League of Women Voters of Chicago, and/or Illinois.

Sign Guest Book at legacy.suntimes.com