Larry was born on July 24, 1925 in Jersey City, New Jersey to Vincent and Susan O'Connor. His wife of 63 years, Isabelle O'Connor, predeceased him in 2014. He is survived by his 4 children- Lawrence, III ( Lori) of Tewksbury NJ, Michael (Brenda) of Fayetteville GA, Patrick (Brenda) of Naples Fla, and Cindy Chapman of Sedona, AZ, He was blessed with 5 grandchildren- Lawrence O'Connor IV, Jennifer O'Connor Keller (Bryan), Logan O'Connor (Turea), Alec Chapman and Catherine Chapman, and 1 great-grandson, Carter Jackson Keller.
Larry attended Rensslaer Polytechnic Institution for 2 years before being drafted into the Army during WW2. He achieved the rank of Staff Sargent, and was responsible for the physical conditioning of 1000 soldiers over a three month period.. He returned to Rensslaer after his discharge to complete his degree in Mechanical Engineering. While at Rensslaer, he was chosen to be a participant in the 1948 Olympic Games, held that year in England, as a forward on the Lacrosse team. His team won the Bronze Medal at the Games. That was the last year Lacrosse was played as an Olympic sport.
While working as an engineer at a power plant in New Orleans, he met the love of his life, Isabelle, whom he married in April, 1951. As an engineer, Larry worked on power plants around the world. He and Izy, with their family, lived in 14 different locations before settling in Morristown, NJ for 16 years. It was there that he retired as a Senior Vice President at Foster Wheeler Corporation, and he and Izy moved to Tampa Florida. Larry moved to Naples in December 2015.
Larry instilled his competitive spirit and his passion for golf in his wife, children and grandchildren. He was an accomplished golfer, with 3 hole -in-ones to his credit. Larry was known to spend hours at the driving range, or on the putting green, patiently teaching and coaching his children, and grandchildren. The family would go on annual vacations, where golf was the focus point. He established the "O'Connor International Open", where everyone would compete in the family tournament-striving to have their name inscribed as that years' winner on the coveted trophy! He also enjoyed being a "life coach" to his children, who would come to him for advice and guidance in all aspects of their lives. Larry will be missed by those he loved and who loved him.
A funeral service will be held at Hodges Funeral Home at Naples Memorial Gardens, 525 111th Ave. North, in Naples at 2:00pm on Sunday, February 25, 2018.
Interment will be on Monday, February 26, 2018 at Florida National Cemetery 6502 SW 102nd Ave in Bushnell Fla at 2:00 pm.
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