William E O’Connor, 87, of Rockport passed away after a lengthy illness on October 23, 2018. Born in Rockport on July 6, 1931, to Gerald B. and Anna (Scanlon) O’Connor, he was the youngest of five children. He attended Rockport schools graduating in 1949, graduated from Wentworth Institute, and fulfilled his military commitment in the US Army, spending most of that time in Newfoundland.
After his military service, he met and married the love of his life, the late, Carol Ann French. Bill and Carol raised seven children. He worked most of his life for the New England Telephone Company in various positions over his longevity.
He was also a part time patrolman for the Rockport Police Department in the ’50s and early ’60s. He retired from the Telephone Company in 1990. He is survived by his seven children; Ann T. “Terrie” and her husband Mark A. Silva, Sr., William E. Jr., and his wife Danielle (Beaulieu), James E. and his wife Suzette (Galipeau), Sean P., Brian T., Christopher M., and Patrick M. and his wife Holly (Ratcliffe); eight grandchildren; Mark A Silva, Jr. and his wife Michelle (Presley), Kathryn E. and her husband David Betts, Evan, Ryan and Micah O’Connor, Ian and wife Caity (Grether) O’Connor, Jackson O’Connor, and Lauren O’Connor; and three great- grandchildren; Abigail R., Connor L., and Joseph E. Betts, a sister Julia E. (O’Connor) Jeffrey, and in-laws Martha (Dumas) O’Connor, Mark French and his wife Shirley (Harris), Maureen (French) Hodgkins, and Helena (French) and her husband James Creamer, MaryJo (Fitzgerald) French, Ronald Perrin, Christopher Bethune, and many nieces and nephews.
He is predeceased by his parents and siblings Gerald B, Kathleen “Kay” and her husband Mitch Knurowski, Ann and her husband Francis Klatecki, and in-laws Richard Jeffrey, Gerald N. French, Jr., Kathleen M. (French) Ciarmetaro, Alice (French) Bethune, Kevin M. French, Peter Hodgkins and nephew Gerald N. French III. His family would like to thank the staff and administration of Den-Mar Health & Rehabilitation Center, Rockport,Massachusetts, where he was cared for with respect and sensitivity. Visiting hours in the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington St. Gloucester, MA are on Sunday, October 28 from 4-7 p.m. Family and friends are cordially invited.
His funeral will be held from the Greely Funeral Home on Monday, October 29 at 9:00 a.m. followed by his mass being celebrated in St. Joachim’s Church, Broadway, Rockport, MA at 10:00 a.m. Burial will be in Seaside Cemetery in the Lanesville section of Gloucester. In lieu of flowers donations are encouraged to be made in his honor to: Alzheimers Association, 309 Waverly Oaks Road, Waltham, MA 02452.
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