John J. O'Gorman, 83, of Hilton Head, SC, passed away Saturday, June 4, 2016 at his home in Hilton Head, surrounded by his family. Born on March 28, 1933 in Manhattan to Irish immigrant parents, John and his family moved from Manhattan to Jackson Heights, Queens and then to Bayside, Queens, where he attend Bayside High School. Over the years John resided in many cities in NY and NJ including Monroe, NY, Basking Ridge, NJ, Panther Valley, NJ and Princeton, NJ.

A Staff Sergeant for the US Air Force, John served during the Korean Conflict, he was an Auxiliary member of the US Coast Guard from 2001-2016. John earned a full scholarship to Saint John's University in NY for Golf but decided to play basketball for Iona College in New Rochelle, NY. After graduating he went on to earn his MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, NJ where he was a member of the MBA Honor Society and was awarded the "Pinnacle Award" for business and person achievement.

After starting his career as a buyer for J.C. Penny Co. where he worked from 1959 to 1965, he later worked as the VP of Sales for Seneca Mills Inc. In 1969 John joined United Jersey Bank as an operations manager and after several years in Branch Administration he was promoted to Executive vice president of UJB Northwest and one year later was name president. After his retirement from financial services as president and CEO of Summit Bank Corp, he moved to Hilton Head, SC where he opened Okatie Ale House, Bar and Restaurant with his sons.

John was very active in his community serving on the board of various organizations, including; Director for Junior Achievement of Union County, Elizabeth; Director of Elizabeth Economic Development Co. and Leadership Group; Executive Trustee of Saint Francis Medical Center and Chairman of the St. Francis Medical Center Foundation; Executive Member of the Princeton Chamber of Commerce; Director of The Hun School in Princeton; the Princeton High School Learning Committee; the NJBA Federal Reserve Relations Committee; Executive Congressional; Contact Banker, American Bankers Association; Chairman of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Mercer County and as a Trustee of the Township of Monroe in NY.

John Earned numerous awards during his business career and community involvement but the awards from his Irish community meant the most. In 1988, John was named the Friendly Son of Saint Patrick of Mercer County. In 1994, he was voted into the top 100 business men of Irish Americas by Irish America Magazine and in 1999, he led the Trenton Saint Patrick's Day Parade as Grand Marshall. He learned the game of golf while working as a caddy all through his teen years in Bayside NY. He was the "Cha-Cha" champion of Long Island and loved to dance. John was always applying for patents for the new inventions he created. He taught himself how to boat down on the Chesapeake and reached a personal goal of boating to the statue of Liberty, where his parent's immigrant ship landed. He was a champion racquetball player and runner. He loved nothing more than coaching his children's teams of all sports.

John had a great devotion to St. Francis and St. Padre Pio, he loved animals of all kinds, he adored his life companion and best friend, his wife "Annie", his children, his faith, his Irish Heritage and music, but most of all his grandchildren - all 13 of them.

Son of the late Timothy Patrick O'Gorman of Tipperary, Ireland who worked as a beer truck driver for Schaefer Brewery and Hanora Harrington of Glengariff, County Cork, Ireland, who worked as a waitress for Shraft's Restaurant in NYC; John was predeceased by his brother, Timothy O'Gorman and brother-in-law, Joseph Vonzwehl. John is survived by his loving wife of 54 years, Ann Marie Flaherty O'Gorman; his children, John Joseph O'Gorman Jr. and daughter-in-law, Beth Richardson; Eileen and her husband, Christopher Vernon, Michael and his wife, Jackie O'Gorman and Timothy and his wife, Virginia O'Gorman; 13 grandchildren, Shannon, Brennan, Ryan, Elizabeth, Bridget, Sean, Abigail, Kathleen, Caroline, Maeve, John Joseph, III, Timothy and Josephine; Brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Laura O'Gorman; sister, Noreen VonZwehl; sister-in-law, Fran O'Gorman as well as many nieces and nephews.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10am on Friday, June 10, 2016 at St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church. Interment will follow in the Parish Cemetery. Friends may call Thursday from 2-4pm and 6-9pm at the Peppler Funeral Home, 114 S. Main St. Allentown. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in John's name to St. John the Baptist R.C. Church, 1282 Yardville-Allentown Rd. Allentown, NJ 08501.