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The Dublin City Council will honor Peter J. Hegarty at its meeting tonight that starts at 7 p.m. in the Dublin Civic Center.
Mr. Hegarty collapsed while out walking his dog on the Presidents Day holiday in Gig Harbor, Washington, where he lived and never regained consciousness. He died eight days later in Tacoma General Hospital.
Georgean M. Vonheeder-Leopold, Dublin historian, said Mr. Hegarty served as Vice Mayor and City Councilman. With his death, Dublin has lost three of its original five City Council members.
Mr. Hegarty was born in Oakland July 3, 1936. He went to school in Oakland and met and married
his wife Rosalie. In 1962, they moved to Dublin.
Right from the beginning, he was passionate about
Dublin’s history. He was one of the founding members of the Dublin Historical Preservation Association that cared for the Murray Schoolhouse between 1975 and 1995 when it gave the
schoolhouse to the city of Dublin.
For years he, his family and a workforce of the new pioneers of Dublin worked to keep the school schoolhouse standing.
He was also concerned for the future of Dublin. So he and his friend, former City Council Member Dave
Burton, spent days at the county offices in Hayward and Oakland keeping watch over what was
developing in the growing community.
Mr. Hegarty’s passion for history didn’t subside when his company, Southern Pacific Railway, moved him to Washington State in 1993. He and “Ro” bought a home in Gig Harbor. He stayed close to friends in Dublin, but very quickly also became active in the Gig Harbor community, including its museum. Lately he had been working with the Historical Society there to restore a historic fishing boat named the Shenandoah.
“I served with Pete for 6-1/2 years on the City Council,” Vonheeder-Leopold said. “I always found him to be a kind, loyal friend, up front and totally devoted to our community. Dublin has lost one of its founding fathers. He will
be deeply missed.”