William O'Connell Obituary

Terry O'Connell was a man of many qualities who truly lived his belief that every person should be a well rounded individual. He loved life. He studied, traveled and immersed himself in other cultures. He loved the sciences, especially astronomy, and never tired of star gazing with his children, even when it meant pointing out Cassiopeia several times. He also had a profound weakness for chocolate. His lifelong passion and respect for learning, for both personal and professional development, was something he lived and shared at every opportunity. He received his BS in mathematics CSU then continued on to earn two masters degrees all while raising 8 children. When he shared this passion, his sense of optimism and possibility were contagious; Terry left you feeling that there was more to you than you knew yourself. He was a man of great courage. After graduating from the Aviation Cadets, Terry flew B-47s at Lake Charles and Lockbourne Air Force Bases, before joining the B-58 program at Carswell and Bunker Hill Air Force Bases. As a Wild Weasel and a River Rat, Terry flew 100 extremely dangerous missionsin F-105s escorting bombers up the Mekong River during the Vietnam War. He also lived the courage of his convictions. As a young man he lost his job in a donut shop for refusing to make an African American customer move to the back of the line behind later arriving white customers. He was a man of great humility. Terry was never a man to boast about himself. He'd much rather speak about how proud he was of his wife, children, grandchildren, brothers, sister, nieces and nephews than talk about things he had accomplished. Even when pressed to tell stories of combat Terry was more likely to share stories of the men beside him than regale a group with his own exploits. He was a man of civic responsibility. Terry served on the Park Forest Estates Water Board for many years. He joined the Knights of Columbus at the age of 18, and remained a member his entire adult life. He served in the Colorado Springs Sister Cities program, and represented Colorado Springs in Smolensk, Russia in 1994. He was also an active member of Colorado Springs Toastmasters for almost 30 years. Throughout his life Terry loved a good laugh, and relished a witty exchange even more so, perhaps because he knew the last word would be his. Though he suffered from several serious health problems in his later years, he was simply a man whose soul outgrew his body. Terry is missed terribly by his surviving family: his wife Rosemary, née McTeigue of Black Forest, CO and the love of his life; his eight children and six grandchildren: daughter Deirdre of Malden MA; son Patrick, of Jersey City, NJ; daughter Katherine of Malden, MA; daughter Maureen of Malden MA; son Kevin and wife Vivian of San Jose, CA, son Neil and wife Laura and grandchildren Liam, Bridget, and Camilla of Peachtree City, GA; son Christopher of Black Forest,CO; son Aidan and wife Susan and grandchildren Aidan, Samantha, and Sammie of Peachtree City, GA; brother Dr.Daniel and Aline O'Connell of Washington, DC; the Honorable Dorothea and John Wefing of Montclair, NJ, sister in law Sheila O'Connell, widow of Terry's brother Paul, of Maywood, NJ, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. A Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, May 23rd 3:00PM at Our Lady of the Pines, 11020 Teachout Road, Colorado Springs in Black Forest. Terry will be burial at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the NTAF Southeast Kidney Transplant Fund for benefit of Bridget O'Connell, 150 N. Radnor Chester Road, Suite F-120, Radnor, PA 19087 (www.helphopelive.org)