Paul Joseph O’Callaghan, known as Red, Dad or Papa depending on who was talking, has died. Arrangements are by the Gately Funeral Home, Melrose.
He was a Somerville guy from the start, with a personality that filled a room and a gift for leaving people laughing. He tended bar, drove a cab and worked as a chemical processor at Polaroid, and served as treasurer of Billerica Elks Lodge 2071. He liked a sure bet and could turn an ordinary afternoon into a story the family would tell for years. His sister-in-law, Carol, put it this way: the O’Callaghans have lost their own little leprechaun, a man with a lot of blarney and a charm all his own.
He was the father of seven, Peter, Paul, June, Kenny, Tracey, Kim and Shannon, father-in-law to Nikki and the rest of his sons- and daughters-in-law, and Papa to 13 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, with another great-grandchild on the way. He also leaves his younger brother, Eddie, and Eddie’s wife, Carol, and a large extended family.
A celebration of his life is Sunday, November 1 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Billerica Elks, 14 Webb Brook Road, Billerica, with a short ceremony at 2 p.m.
Compiled from information published by Gately Funeral Home. Photograph courtesy of the family via Gately Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
