Flaherty / Nazar – Flaherty Nazar Family

Bert Flaherty and Mary Nazar marry on October 21, 1931. Based on their birth and census records showing birth years of 1911 and 1915, respectively, they are actually several years younger than what is listed on their marriage license (see application below).

Bert and Mary first live at 1705 Wyoming Ave and then 959 Providence Rd before finally purchasing a home at 939 Johler Ave which was only several houses from where Bert and his family lived in 1930.

A current picture of the house at Johler Ave is provided below, including the cinder block garage on the left that Bert and his children and brother built.

Fig 3 – 939 Johler Ave (from Google Maps)

Children

From this home on Johler Ave, Bert and Mary raise 8 children: Mary Lou, Geraldine (Gerry), Thomas, Joseph, Robert (Bobby), Margaret (Peggy), John (Jack), and Hugh. Over the years, three of their children have died: Geraldine in 1940 at age 4, Thomas in 1998 at age 58, and Mary Lou in 2018 at age 86 (see obituaries below).

Fig 4 – Gerry Flaherty Obituary (Feb 6, 1940 Scranton Tribune)

Fig 6 – Thomas Flaherty Obituary (Apr 27, 1998 Scranton Tribune)

Fig 7 – Mary Lou Flaherty/Davis Obituary (June 17, 2018 Scranton Tribune)

Mary Nazar

Mary did not like to have her picture taken so there are only limited photos of her available.

Fig 8 – Mary at Margaret (Flaherty) McCarthy’s Kitchen Table

In addition, no known video of Mary exits. However, the genealogical website MyHeritage.com has software that can “animate” still pictures in order to bring your ancestors to life which is what was done below.

Mary Nazar Flaherty dies of lung and breast cancer on February 13, 1963 at age 47 (see obituary below). She is the first of her three siblings to pass and is buried at Cathedral Cemetery.

Fig 10 – Mary Nazar/Flaherty Obituary (Feb 15, 1963 Scranton Tribune)

As a result of Mary’s passing at such an early age, the older children, especially Mary Lou, help raise their younger siblings. Consequently, Mary Lou’s 3 children become more or less siblings of the youngest Flaherty children.

Bert Flaherty

Bert had a long and very active life including working at the Scranton First National Bank for 55 years. He spent many years active in the Technical High School Boosters Club, Little League baseball, and church and community functions. In fact, a search on Newspapers.com for articles in Scranton mentioning Bert Flaherty between 1930-1991 found almost 400 articles showing the impact that he had on so many lives. I’ve included several of the more interesting articles below.

Fig 12 – Aug 22, 1959, The Scranton Times-Tribune

Fig 13 – Sep 30, 1964, The Scranton Tribune

Fig 14 – Jan 13, 1969, The Scranton Tribune

Bert dies of cardiac arrest on October 27, 1991 at age 80 and is buried at Cathedral Cemetery with Mary and daughter Geraldine. Bert was also the first of his eight siblings to pass.

Fig 15 – Bert Flaherty Obituary (Oct 29, 1991 Scranton Times-Tribune)

Cathedral Cemetery

Bert and Mary are buried along with Mary parents at Cathedral Cemetery in Lot 9, Section 14, Block D. Below is a picture of their headstone and map showing where their plot is within the cemetery. Their daughter Geraldine is buried with her paternal grandparents Hugh and Margaret Flaherty in Lot 9, Section 7, Block B.