OCONNOR THOMAS W #1

CPT Thomas W. O'Connor was a potential VHPA member who died after his tour in Vietnam on 04/04/2002 at the age of 54.6 from Heart attack
Parker, CO
Date of Birth 08/20/1947
Served in the U.S. Army
This information was provided by SSN deceased search, Obit, "Rocky Mountain News"

More detail on this person: Heart attack while riding a bicycle during a layover in Santa Barbara, CA.

Massaro: Pilot Tom O'Connor lived to fly, flew to live, April 27, 2002

PARKER -- Tom O'Connor's life revolved around flying. He risked his life during two tours in the Vietnam War as a helicopter pilot. He was wounded, nicked in the leg by shrapnel, and received the Purple Heart. He also received the Bronze Star for valor under fire in 1971. "If it wasn't for his father and brother, I wouldn't have known anything about that," said his wife, Jean.

Tom was a pilot with United Express Airlines. "He liked to fly," Jean said. "His uncle, Tom Dryland, was the oldest crop duster in Lincoln, Nebraska. He died last week. He's the one that took Tom up for his first airplane flight." Tom O'Connor died after suffering a heart attack while riding a bicycle April 4 during a layover in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 54. "It was unexpected," Jean said. "He had an EKG Jan. 25 for his flight physical. He had an EKG every six months since he was 40."

Tom was born Aug. 20, 1947, in Fort Lee, Va. He grew up all over. His father, the late Tom O'Connor Sr., was an Army officer. Tom graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in criminal justice after he left the military. He served in the Army Reserves after finishing his active duty. He worked as a police officer in Edina, Minn., before becoming an airline pilot. He began working for Air Wisconsin in 1979. "He was given the new first officers quite often because he was a good pilot and he trained them," Jean said.

Jean and Tom met in Moline, Ill., where both were working. He and Jean were married on Jan. 27, 1990, in Rockford, Ill. They moved to Colorado eight years ago. "He was always doing something helpful for someone else," Jean said. When her sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Tom "flew back and forth to North Carolina to help me," said Jean, who was caring for her sister and her sister's children.

A memorial service will be May 6 at Arlington National Cemetery.

In addition to Jean, survivors include his mother, Julia O'Connor, of Silver Spring, Md.; a daughter, Molly Doneta O'Connor, of Minneapolis; a sister, Susan McCarty, of Columbia, Md.; his brother, Robert, of Jackson, Minn.; his stepdaughter, Crystal Lynn Veerabadren, of Denver; and a stepson, Johnathan Neil Ipock, of Ladysmith, Wis., and six grandchildren.

When Gary Massaro listens, people talk. Gary's column appears Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Contact him at (303) 892-5271 or massarog@RockyMountainNews.com

Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA

This information was last updated 05/18/2016

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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024


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