Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Pittsburghers line Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill to wave as the mayor's procession passes by.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Even before the funeral for Mayor Bob O'Connor was over, Pittsburghers, on a pleasant, late-summer day, began lining the route of a motorcade that was to pass by his favorite spots on the way to Calvary Cemetery.

The procession, estimated at 130 vehicles, left St. Paul Cathedral and snaked its way through Oakland onto the Martin Luther King East Busway for the trip Downtown. Public Works Director Guy Costa estimated 100 vehicles belonging to family and friends followed the hearse, which was accompanied by city motorcycle officers.

After the private vehicles were dozens of police cars representing city, county and school forces.

Ambulances, fire trucks and, appropriately for the "Redd Up" mayor, even a garbage truck joined the procession. -- Tim McNulty

	Tony Tye, Post-Gazette Allegheny County Jail guards receive a wave from a passing car as they salute the cortege of Mayor Bob O'Connor as it exits Downtown via Second Avenue. Click photo for larger image.

Well before the arrival of the motorcade, hundreds of people were lining both sides of Grant Street from the US Steel Building to Oxford Centre. Many were gathered in front of the City-County Building, where Mr. O'Connor served several terms as councilman and eight months as mayor.

In front of the building, the hearse paused for no more than a minute, and those assembled on the city hall steps broke into applause. The clapping continued as cars carrying family members passed by, including a limo carrying son Corey O'Connor, who flashed a thumbs up out the window.

During the afternoon, a few hundred had gathered, but as the motorcade approached, the sidewalks suddenly filled for several blocks.

A nurse from Mercy Hospital brought her children. Patricia Toomey, who grew up on the North Side and now lives in the North Hills, had the day off and took Madison, 3, and Garrett, 2, in a double-stroller. She had never met Mr. O'Connor but said, "I loved the mayor long before he was mayor. He looked like my father, who is deceased," she said.

"I thought he was a neat guy, a good Pittsburgh guy."

And a Steelers fan who arrived early for the game, John Damico, took the opportunity to stop by. Mr. Damico, of Forest Hills, sported a Joe Greene, No. 75, jersey and had been shopping in the Strip District for tailgating supplies for tonight's game against the Miami Dolphins at Heinz Field.

"The last time I saw him was before a Steelers game, so it was fitting I would see him again before this Steelers game," Mr. Damico said.

-- Mark Belko

	Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette Even though sho didn't know Mayor Bob O'Connor personally, Sherry Kraft, of Greenfield, brought a home-made thank-you card as she stood outside St. Rosalia. Click photo for larger image.

At Mr. O'Connor's home parish, St. Rosalia in Greenfield, Ron Mountain, of Greenfield, was among hundreds who lined several blocks. "I've known him all my life. Guys like him come around once in a million. I knew him when he went to St. Philomena's [grade school] and Allderdice [High School]. I'd see him walking his grandchildren to breakfast on Murray Avenue. If you'd just started talking to him for the first time, you felt like you knew him all your life. His main quality was: he listened to everybody."

Eileen Lyle of Lincoln Place, originally from Greenfield, said, "He's the greatest man who ever lived in Pittsburgh. I campaigned for him twice for mayor. I stood at the polls, rain or snow. His son, Terry, used to visit my mom when he was in the monastery. That whole family is very warm."

As the motorcade paused in front of St. Rosalia, Father Terry O'Connor waved to the the crowd.

Keith Hartman of Greenfield said, "I used to be president of the Greenfield Baseball Association back in the '90s. And when he first got elected to city council, he called my house and asked what he could do to help our organization. I didn't even approach him. He called me," Mr. Hartman said of Mr. O'Connor, who was a long-time baseball coach in Squirrel Hill. "We represented about 300 children from the Greenfield area, and he got us a batting cage."

-- Diana Nelson Jones

	Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Denise Lohr, who operates a dog-walking service, waited for the motorcade in front of Bob O'Connor's house. Click photo for larger image.

Across from the Phillips Avenue house where Bob O'Connor lived, Denise Lohr stood with her dog on a small hillside. She propped a homemade thank-you sign on a fence.

"I became interested in him many years ago," Ms. Lohr said, "because I found out about his family, its diversity."

Mr. O'Connor had a Jewish wife and a black son-in-law to go with his own Irish Catholic heritage.

"So that," Ms. Lohr said, "sparked my interest. I have a biracial daughter myself."

And so it was fitting: When the procession passed Mr. O'Connor's modest home, the hundred-odd folks gathered there represented much of city that the mayor represented. One woman clutched a Jewish prayer book. Two-dozen folks from the Heritage Shadyside nursing and rehab home across the street from Mr. O'Connor's house lined the sidewalk in wheelchairs. A few mothers held children. Two more wore Troy Polamalu Steelers jerseys.

"Who better to represent all of this?" Ms. Lohr asked, looking at the scene. "He lived it."

-- Chico Harlan

	Alyssa Cwanger, Post-Gazette Dean Alston, Jr., of Beltzhoover, plays trumpet with the Dixieland band in front of Gullifty's restaurant on Murray Avenue as the funeral procession passes through Squirrel Hill. Click photo for larger image.

The funeral cars rose up Murray Avenue, passing Gullifty's Restaurant, where the Throwdown Brass Band played jazz.

It was a four-man gig, all guys from Pittsburgh. Their horns tugged at the air, and the drumbeats spiked the beat. They played for 30minutes, starting with the tunes that demanded a somber march rhythm.

"Jazz funerals," said one of the members, Dean Alston, Jr., "are part of the culture in New Orleans."

They require a delicate balance, respectful but celebratory.

Gullifty's manager Dave Papale called the group because he knew they could provide that. Mr. Papale had known Bob O'Connor from their days coaching Little League together. Since becoming mayor, Mr. O'Connor had twice eaten at the restaurant and said that he'd heard great

things about the place's fairly recent jazz scene.

So this was a final, musical tribute.

Folks on the sidewalk stood in silence, watching the procession when it passed. The four musicians assembled with their instruments,

playing the music that mourned and thanked.

-- Chico Harlan

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette Lisa Chotiner, right, and co-worker Alisa Caplan watch the funeral procession pass them on Forbes Avenue. "Everybody loves him on the street," Caplan said. The women work at Cheryl W Jewelry. Click photo for larger image.

Three city public works employees, who had the day off in honor of the mayor, put down lawn chairs in front of Coffee Tree Roasters on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill.

Mr. O'Connor held court at the store, not far from his house, every Saturday morning.

One of the workers, Dan Faiello, grew up in Greenfield and was an amateur boxer. He rememberd how Mr. O'Connor would show up at his fights to cheer for him.

"He was a good guy -- a Greenfield guy who did well. He always listened to everybody and he made it a point to say 'hi' to me whenever he ran into me," Mr. Faiello recalled.

Joel Sigal, owner of Little's Shoe Store on Forbes, also had recollections about the mayor, whom he knew for 20 years.

The mayor shopped there, always buying black Rockport wingtips.

Mr. Sigal said that about 20 years ago he and Mr. O'Connor started a task force for the business district in Squirrel Hill designed to keep it spruced up. He thinks that was the first example of Bob's redd up campaign.

"He was just an unbelievable person. You saw him everywhere, and it wasn't political. It was because he truly loved this place. Squirrel Hill was his home and the whole city was his home."

As the hearse went by the coffee shop, patrons stood outside and raised coffee cups in salute. People mumbled "God bless you," and applauded.

Bill Swoope, one of the coffee shop's owners, bought the store 13 years ago and recalled how, when Mr. O'Connor would sit outside, "There was a constant flow of people. I'm sure he heard all the things he wanted to hear and all the things he didn't want to hear, but he never turned anyone down."

Rosalie Caplan, of Wilkinsburg, said she and her partner Mark Witt have known the O'Connors for years. "He just had charisma and that's why this city adores him. It was too soon. It just makes me wonder why it happened.

"I just hope his memory stays alive and I hope the politicians don't start fighting with each other because that's not what he would have wanted."

-- Mark Roth

Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Residents of Heritage Shadyside, a nursing and rehabiltation center line up to watch the motorcade across from Bob O'Connor's Squirrell Hill home. Blanche Brown, right, originally from Homewood, waves and shouts "God Bless You" as the funeral processional goes by and staff member Loretta Pittman wipes away tears behind Ms. Brown. Also in the front row are Joy Price, with the white blanket, and Cynthia Kirtley, holding a thanks sign.

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Correction/Clarification: (Published Sept. 9, 2006) Rosalie Caplan and Mark Witt are partners, not husband and wife. This story as originally published on Sept. 7, 2006 aboutpeople watching Mayor Bob O'Connor's funeral procession incorrectly stated their marital status.