Thomas Edward O'Connor

Our Thomas (Tom) Edward O’Connor, 80 years old, of New City NY, passed away on 2/17/18 in the presence of his beloved wife Helen and loving family. Tom was born on May 5, 1937 to Edward and Winifred (Lyons) O’Connor who both emigrated from Ireland to NYC in the early 1900’s.

Tom grew up in the Bronx and attended Visitation Grammar School, All Hallows HS and graduated from Manhattan College in (1961) where he is a Hall of Fame catcher for the Jasper baseball team. After college, Tom was drafted by the Major League Pittsburgh Pirates organization to play catcher for their Triple AAA team. Beyond his professional sports career, Tom was a U.S. Marine Corp PLC and a special FBI agent for 25 years. After retiring from the FBI, Tom took on the assistant Director of Security role at ABC Capital Cities in their NYC World Headquarters.

Most important, Tom met the love of his live Helen Marie Fennelly 58 years ago and they were married on June 6, 1959. Together, they have 4 children and 12 grandchildren that Tom was actively involved in all their lives. He was a Little league and Babe Ruth coach, CCD teacher, avid golfer and voracious reader of all genres. Irish history and culture were his speciality and his deepest love. He was known throughout Rockland and Montauk NY for his expert fiddle playing and could be found in numerous Irish musical session groups in restaurants, weddings and festivals. He loved attending all children’s and grandchildren’s sports and activities and had a special knack of making each of his grandchildren feel like they were his favorite.

He was predeceased by his father, mother, sisters Margaret and Nancy and brother John.

Tom is survived by his four children: Thomas O’Connor (Susan Haggerty), Robert O’Connor, Brian O’Connor (Jacqui Carpenter), Christine O’Connor (Brian Coffey) and his 12 grandchildren: Colin, Emily, Danny, Kirstin, Brian, Kyle, Michael, Renee, Kiley, Jack, Quinn and Camille.

The family will receive friends on Tuesday February 20 from 3pm to 8pm at Higgins Funeral Home in New City, NY. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on Wednesday February 21st, 10am at St Augustine’s Church, New City, followed by Interment at Gethsemane Cemetery, Congers, NY, 10920.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests all donations be sent to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.