Obituary of Oscar A Mockridge

The Reverend Oscar Alling Mockridge, III, 80 years of age, died peacefully on April 23, 2017, at home in West Orange, NJ.  He was born April 11, 1937 in Newark, NJ to Oscar A. Mockridge, Jr. and Georgie Wilson Mockridge.  Oscar graduated from the Montclair Academy in 1955 and Princeton University in 1959 majoring in Pre-Med and Religion.  He attended Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, MA (class of 1965).  He served Saint Peter’s, Mountain Lakes, NJ, Trinity, Irvington, NJ and Annunciation, Oradell, NJ.  In 1975, he received his Master of Public Administration from New York University.  He went on to mental health administration at Barnert Hospital and at homeless shelters in New York City.  Oscar was able to significantly reduce violence in the shelter system with his kindness and respect for the clients.  Following this experience, he became certified in Pastoral Counseling in 1992 at the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health, NY, and joined their staff as a therapist to the chronically mentally ill.  In 2000, he became the Outreach Pastoral Associate at Grace Episcopal Church, Madison, NJ until his retirement in 2004.  During retirement, Oscar provided weekly religious services to the residents of a local assisted living facility, enjoyed assisting at St.Luke’s Church, Montclair, NJ, and attended Dunworkin Club and Now or Never with fellow retirees.  Oscar had a life-long passion for classical music. He was a member of the Washington Association of New Jersey and General Society of Colonial Wars.  The compassion, patience and kindness that exemplified Oscar will be missed by those who knew him.  Oscar is survived by his wife of 53 years, Anne Hallowell Mockridge, his two children and their families: son, Oscar Alling Mockidge, IV his wife Caroline, and three sons (Henry, Brewster and Chase) and daughter Kendall Annable, husband Stephen and two sons (Spencer and Drew).  Oscar was predeceased by his sister, Jane Alyce Mockridge. Funeral services will be held at 10 am Friday, April 28, 2017 at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church, Montclair, NJ 07042.  Following the reception, interment is at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Newark, NJ 07104. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to SAGE ElderCare, Summit, NJ or Montclair History Center formerly the Montclair Historical Society.