Theresa O'Connell

Theresa Lorraine Marie O’Connell was born on Oct. 20, 1924 on a farm in Adamsville, New Brunswick. She was Acadian, so her first language was French. To her five children and seven grandchildren, she was Mother Theresa, serenely presiding over a deafening roomful of her progeny and marvelling at how she was responsible for all this noise. She grew up during the Depression and the Second World War. When she married in the 1950s she was 29, practically an old maid by the standards of the day. One of the stories that stayed with her to the end of her days was how she had to give up her job at the federal revenue department because of her marriage. She always said she didn’t mind because she loved her kids. She loved to read, travel, dance and socialize. She hated cold weather and cooking. She was slow to anger and quick to smile. She took things as they came, didn’t criticize and rarely had a bad word to say about anyone. Mom and our dad, Bill, had a tight circle of friends known as The Crowd, who could be found singing King of the Road off-key most Saturday nights in someone’s basement or boat. She was quick-witted and mischievous. She survived kidney cancer at 88 and a fall down the stairs without so much as a broken bone at 98. But she couldn’t defeat dementia, which slowly took over her mind, or arthritis, which caused her awful pain in her final years. She died at age 99 on Feb. 15, 2024, several days after a stroke. She leaves her kids: Susan (Will Moreira), Halifax; Janet (Bruce Gibson), Stouffville, Ont.; Paul (Violet), Cole Harbour; Peter (Claudine), Belleville, Ont.; and Anne, of Halifax, who cared for her in her last years; seven grandchildren: Matt, Phil and Jeff; Shauna and Eric; Marianne and Will; three great-grandchildren, and an older (!) sister, Rita, of Moncton. She was predeceased by her parents, Melende and Paul Landry, her brother, Camille, sisters Irene and Louise and her husband, Bill. Funeral service will be held on Thursday March 21 at 12:15 at Saint Benedict Church. A reception will follow the service. We invite all to come see us to celebrate this wonderful woman’s life. Our deep and fond appreciation goes out to the caring and devoted staff at The Madeline care home, where she spent her last six months.