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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