Tributes paid to Strabane man Michael ‘Bear’ O’Kane

ONE of the town’s most well-loved residents, Michael ‘Bear’ O’Kane has been laid to rest, following a battle with cancer.

Mr O’Kane was a longtime stalwart of Strabane, known firstly for his work in the construction business and, in later life, as a taxi man around the town.

Celebrant of Mr O’Kane’s funeral Mass on Sunday, Fr Michael Doherty, spoke touchingly of a man who passed away just three days shy of his 88th birthday.

One of nine children, ‘Bear’ was the last of the O’Kane siblings, which included former councillor James O’Kane. Fr Doherty said it was a sad moment which “severed the links with the previous generation.”

Detailing Mr O’Kane’s life, Fr Doherty said, “Michael was born on August 27 1935 and was the last surviving member of the O’Kane’s in Strabane. As a young man Michael went to London, plying his trade on the construction sites as a carpenter. It was here where he met and fell in love with Fionnuala Flood. They married in 1971, returning to set up home in Strabane in 1976 after the birth of their two daughters Ciara and Clare.

“Michael remained in construction until he could no longer do so and then reinvented himself as a taxi-man, known for his obliging manner. Over the past 15 years he overcame two bouts of serious illness which eventually forced him to give up his second career; a move which Michael found very difficult to deal with.”

Fr Doherty also spoke of Mr O’Kane’s “fun-loving and mischievous nature” and of the Christian values he lived by and instilled in his daughters; always to help others, be the bigger person in any given situation and always have confidence in themselves no matter what they do in life.

In closing, Fr Doherty offered his sincere sympathy to Fionnuala, Ciara, Claire, son-in-law Neil and grandchildren Orla and Charlotte.

Following his Requiem Mass, Mr O’Kane was taken to Lakelands Crematorium for cremation.