Obituary of Patricia Michelle O'Connell
Patricia Michele (McCabe) O’Connell, better known as Pat or Patsy, died peacefully on April 4th, 2020. Born December 4th, 1932 to parents Dr. Edward James McCabe and May (Webster) McCabe. Pat grew up in Larchmont, NY, attended Connecticut College for nursing for 3 years before marrying Charles Roark (Rocky) O’Connell in June of 1953.
Pat is Survived by her son Kevin O’Connell (Ann) of Houston, TX and daughter Kathleen O’Connell of San Rafael, CA., her brother Edward M. McCabe (Susan) of Princeton, NJ and her sister Mary Sue Virtue (Thomas) of Rye, NY. She was Grandma to 4 grandchildren, Chloe O’Connell and Robert O’Connell, Colette O’Connell-Phillipps and Connell Phillipps. She is predeceased by her husband Charles Roark O’Connell (Rocky), in April 1995.
Pat and Rocky lived in California, Illinois, and New York, to name a few locations before they settled in Mountain Lakes, NJ in 1969. In 1959, while living in NY, they had their son, and 3 years later they had their daughter.
Pat became very active in Mountain Lakes, and with her kids activities—League Women Voters, teaching CCD, Baseball, Swimming, Football, etc. Pat and Rocky loved spending time with good friends sailing and skiing over the years. Pat was an avid reader and enjoyed discussing the books she read with others.
As her kids got older, she decided to go back to work. She started part time as a medical technician and enrolled in Fairleigh Dickenson University to get her degree in Medical Technology. One of her proudest accomplishments was graduating College the same year her oldest graduated Mountain Lakes High School.
After graduation, she went to work at Morristown Memorial Hospital and worked there until her retirement in 1993. She loved her work and the people she worked with.
After her retirement and after Rocky’s passing in 1995, she started to volunteer with Hospice. She spent many years helping families through one of the hardest parts of life. She also enjoyed being part of the Mountain Lakes seniors clubs and other women’s groups around town.
Pat and Rocky were also very active with St. Catherine’s of Siena Church. Pat taught CCD classes, and was a Eucharist minister for many years.
Her family will cherish Pat’s warm and caring spirit. She opened her house to all, especially her kid’s friends and always made everyone feel welcome. She felt that the more the merrier. She was also a strong woman that fought for what she believed in, especially when it related to her children.
Because of the current pandemic, a celebration of her life will be postponed until sometime this summer when it will be ok to celebrate together. Details of the celebration will be released when they have been finalized.
