Family, Friends 'Re-Member' James McGeehan

They remembered him from the pews of a local church to the shores of his favorite beach last weekend.  

Long Beach resident James McGeehan was remembered by his family and friends at two separate ceremonies, the first was a Mass held at St. Mary’s of the Isle Church on East Park Avenue Saturday morning, followed by memorial at Maryland Avenue beach on Sunday.

The weekend marked the two-month passing of McGeehan, 56, and his dog, Ozzy, who were struck by a motorist outside the Saloon bar-restaurant on West Beech Street Aug. 18. Ozzy died that night, and McGeehan four days later at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.

Saturday’s church service emphasized to mourners not to remember Jim, but to "re-member" him as a part of their current lives. Honoring the relationship between a man and his dog, the service paid tribute to McGeehan for risking his life in an effort to save Ozzy. He was remembered as a true gentleman.

"People who knew him, loved him," his sister, Debbie, reflected with friends at the morning Mass. 

The following afternoon, Debbie, her family and their friends gathered on Maryland Avenue beach to scatter McGeeham’s ashes, along with those of Ozzy and Bear, McGeehan’s first dog, in the ocean.

Debbie, McGeehan’s brother John and sister-in-law Kathy and friends shared stories about the man who touched so many lives. Debbie recalled the loving words Jim had once shared about the friends he had made in Long Beach.

"It's a privilege to have people like this in my life," Debbie continued. "We were so privileged to have had Jim in our lives."

Long Beach residents Nick and Rita Velardi, close friends of McGeehan’s for many years, reflected on the impact he had on them.

"Jim was my beach family,” Nick said during the ceremony on the West End beach. “So was Ozzy. This [beach] is our backyard and Jim was a big part of that.”

Said Rita: "Knowing him made our lives better."