OConnor, Francis X.

Description

Francis Xavier O’Connor was born on March 15, 1926, in Bronx, New York, to Irene E Carleton, age 21, and Francis Xavier O’Connor, age 21. He had one sister Lois and a brother Gerald.

Francis attended Harrison High School, class of 1942. In Rye his family lived at 13 York Ave and were members of the Church of the Resurrection.

Francis enlisted and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He served in the military in April 1943 when he was 17 years old, serving 3 & 1/2 yrs during WWII, partly in the Pacific.

Francis received his Honorable Discharge from Navy on June 3, 1946, when he was 20 years old.

Francis married Jean Wadsworth Whalen in Syracuse, New York, on June 6, 1949, when he was 23 years old at the Church of the Savior, Syracuse,, NY .Witnesses were Lawrence Siewers and his parents Dr & Mrs Albert B Siewers. Jean and Francis would be blessed with three children.

Francis was recalled to active duty in Aug 1950 while studying for his Masters at Syracuse University. He was assigned to a military a transport ferrying troops and equipment to Korea and assigned to officer training.

The young couple then moved from Syracuse to San Francisco, to San Diego, to Larchmont, NY and to Norfolk all while Francis was in the Navy.

After his service Francis became a senior executive for the federal government, working for the National Security Agency and retiring from there in 1989.

Francis Xavier O’Connor died on January 10, 2004, in Seminole, Florida, when he was 78 years old.

At the time of his death, survivors included his wife of 55 years, Jean W.; two sons, Peter F., Lawrenceville, Ga., and Christopher, Westminster, Md.; a daughter, Deborah A, Sykesville, Md.; and three grandchildren. E. James Reese Funeral Home & Crematory, Seminole.