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Maureen O’Hara: Irish Actress To Be Buried In Arlington Cemetery

By Angela Woods
Published on: 00:51 PST, Nov 8, 2015

The family of Irish-born actress Maureen O’Hara confirms that she will be buried alongside her husband, Brigadier General Charles Blair, in Virginia’s Arlington Cemetery on Monday afternoon.

O’Hara passed away on October 24 at the age of 95. She was born August 17, 1920. The Irish Independent reports that her husband was a World War II hero and an officer in the Air Force. Blair died in a plane crash in the Caribbean in 1978, and was buried with full military honors. It was the actress’s wish to be buried with him, as she always proclaimed him the love of her life. They had only been married for 10 years at the time of his tragic passing.

Unbeknownst to many of her fans, O’Hara took over her husband’s company as president upon his death. Antilles Airboats was a commuter seaplane service based in the Caribbean. According to Fox News, she made history as the first woman scheduled airline president in the United States.

UPI lists many screen credits for Maureen. Over the years, she starred in classics such as The Quiet Man, Miracle on 34th Street, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and How Green Was My Valley, just to name a few. She was presented with an honorary Oscar in 2014 for Lifetime Achievement at the annual Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Governors Awards. She was also made a Fellow of the British Film Institute for outstanding contribution to film culture.

O’Hara’s biography on IMDb lists some of her nicknames over the years as Big Red, The Pirate Queen, and The Queen of Technicolor.

As a child, Maureen was very athletic and loved sports. Because of her athletic ability, she performed many of her own stunts in her movies, something that was very rare for an actress of her time.

O’Hara’s mother was a professional contralto and her father a business manager and soccer player.

Maureen was the second of six children. She was accepted into the Abbey Theater at the age of 14 for classical training in theater and operatic singing. She was cast on the road to stardom after Hollywood producers saw her screen test and took note of her beautiful eyes. They changed her name from that of her birth name of Maureen Fitzsimons to the famous moniker of Maureen O’Hara, so that her billing would fit more easily on marquees.

By the age of 19, O’Hara had already starred in two major motion pictures.

During the course of her career, Maureen was voted one of the five most beautiful women in the world.

O’Hara also once owned a published a magazine, the Virgin Islander. She wrote a column for the magazine, entitled “Maureen O’Hara Says.”

Maureen gave birth to only one child. At the age of 23, her daughter, Bronwyn Brigid Price, was born during the course of her second marriage.

O’Hara married three times during her life. She was once widowed, once divorced, and one marriage was later annulled.

Previously when commenting on her stardom, she said that she was surprised that her looks played a part in it all.

“Every star has that certain something that stands out and compels us to notice them. As for me, I have always believed my most compelling quality to be my inner strength, something I am easily able to share with an audience. I’m very comfortable in my own skin. I never thought my looks would have anything to do with becoming a star. Yet it seems that in some ways they did.”

Last rites will proceed as follows. Ms. O’Hara’s Rosary and removal will take place on Sunday evening. Requiem Mass will be held on Monday in the a.m., and her burial is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

In addition to family and friends, many Hollywood icons of both past and present are expected to be in attendance at her funeral.

Maureen O’Hara was a resident of Idaho at the time of her death.

[Photo by Kevin Winter / Getty Images]

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