Nestor Oginar

Nestor Oginar, age 77 passed away on September 26th at his home in Plainview, N.Y. surrounded by his wife and children. After a long fight with cancer, he finally gave himself to God on September 26th, 2024.

He is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Milica Oginar, his children, Filip (husband of Eva), Pena (wife of Gorjan) and Roden (husband of Jennifer) and Grandchildren, Zora, Ana, Iskra, Jake, Dara, Mia and Iva. He is also survived by his sisters Mira and Spomenka back home in Macedonia as well as many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws and the numerous friends, colleagues and students whose lives he touched over the years.

A truly unique and original man, Nestor was born on February 3rd, 1947 in Skopje, Macedonia (then part of the Former Yugoslavia). He was an avid reader, a poet and an athlete in his youth, and after briefly serving in the military, soon became an activist against the communist regime. His politics and philosophy led him to the United States where he lived in the greater New York area since 1969, for 55 years.

He held a Masters Degree in English from New York University and was a professor and teacher in the New York City public school system for nearly 30 years, educating and discipling thousands of impressionable youth along the way.

He was a lover of his native Macedonia and participated in numerous activist and nationalist causes. He was a lover of his adopted country America as well, and perhaps most importantly, as a Macedonian Orthodox Christian, a lover of God.

Towards his latter years, his greatest role was that of a loving grandfather, dedicated with all of his heart to his grandchildren with whom he spent countless hours singing songs, playing the guitar, loving and helping to raise them, often times under the giant Oak tree in their backyard.

As his last name Oginar (which means keeper of the fire in his native Macedonian) suggests, Nestor kept the eternal fire burning until his final breath, and that unique fire is now passed on to his family, who will keep it raging for all time.

Nestor’s family will be holding a humble service to remember him and to celebrate his life at 2pm on Monday, September 30th, 2024 at the Vernon C. Wagner funeral home at 655 Old Country Rd, Plainview, NY 11803. Your thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated.