Dale Mae O'Connor

Heaven gained another angel in the passing of Dale M. O’Connor, “Mrs. O,” on Sept. 7, 2025, at her home in Keene.

She was born on March 12, 1941, in Bridgeport, Conn., daughter of the late Chester and Florence Garrison. She was married to James O’Connor until his passing in 2001. They shared their love while he was alive, and she now shares his date of passing after 24 years apart.

She is survived by her daughters, Karen, and Kathi and her husband, David Kelly (whom she thought of as her son); her son, Michael, and his fiancée, Jill Goldfarb; her favorite title of Grandma to Nick O’Connor and his girlfriend, Maddie Connors; her siblings, Sandy, Chet (Barbara), Terry (Chris) and Wayne (Mary Beth); her brother-in-law, Jack (Sharon); numerous cousins, nieces and nephews; Nick’s Mom, Yvonne Milewski; and numerous friends.

“Mrs. O” worked at Symonds School as a paraprofessional for 28 years. She treated all of her students just like her own kids. What most don’t know about Mom is that after high school, she worked in a lab, doing cutting-edge breast cancer research and occasionally had to take phone calls for her boss from then Vice President Richard Nixon. After that, she moved to California, where she started working for a lab doing research for NASA. One of Mom’s jobs was helping to create and test medication to combat the centrifugal forces the astronauts encountered upon re-entry. Her proudest moment was being at an Apollo capsule landing and watching the astronauts actually walk off on their own for the first time.

A massive thanks to her best friend, Mary Rooney. We don’t know how we could have done this without your love and support.

Mom’s funeral will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at 10 a.m. at Saint Margaret Mary’s Church on Arch Street in Keene, with the reception to follow. We kindly request family flowers only, but if you’d like to make a donation in her name, please send to the Alzheimer’s Association NH/MA, 320 Nevada St., Suite 201, Newton MA 02460; the Monadnock Humane Society, 101 West Swanzey Road, Swanzey, NH 03446; or to a charity of your choice.