Robert James O'Connor's Obituary
Robert James O’ConnorMay 12, 1947 – November 23, 2019The husband, father, and friend we all knew and loved spent his final days surrounded by his family and great friends and is now in a peaceful place after his brave battle with esophageal cancer. We will miss his smile, sense of humor, his love of family – including our German Shepherd Emma, baseball, wine, trains, and hearing stories of his escapades in his 1959 sky blue Chevy and trips to the Jersey shore.Bob was born on May 12, 1947 in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up in Upper Darby, PA. He graduated from Monsignor Bonner Catholic High School in 1965 where he learned creativity and teamwork with his best friend Eric, especially when it came to chemistry exams. Bob was on the crew team and talked about how he enjoyed the early morning rows with all the rowers gliding in sync over the Schuylkill River. He went on to attend night school at St. Joseph’s University while working full time at the FBI, earning a B.A. degree in history and a minor in business.Knowing the Vietnam draft might sweep him up at any moment, he joined the Army and graduated Officer Candidate School with the rank of 1st Lieutenant. It was the Army that brought Bob to California through an assignment at the Oakland Army Base. Every time he drove past the old barracks off of I-880, he would look over and say how he couldn’t believe they took the softball field out, where he hit a game-winning grand slam home run in one of their frequent games on the base.Shortly after serving his time in the Army, Bob joined Liquid Air as a salesman. As the company grew and became Air Liquide, Bob’s career also flourished. Forty years later, he retired as Region Manager for the Pacific Northwest. The Region Manager meetings were among Bob’s favorite times where he shared stories, laughter, food and drink with managers from across the U.S.Bob’s dedication as a father and husband is cherished by his wife, Melissa (aka “Mel”), his children Matthew (Tiffany) and Megan (Seth), and step-daughter Adele. He attended every baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, track event, band performance, and horse show his kids were in. Bob helped both Matt and Megan achieve their educational goals and always encouraged them to work hard and follow their dreams.Bob and Mel enjoyed many adventures together including weekend winery visits where they made so many friends, especially at Trefethen and Simoncini. After talking about it for many years, they finally took that road trip in 2018 to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. Also on the top of the travel list were all the annual family vacations to Disneyland. Taking their oldest grandson to Disneyland two times with just the three of them was most precious to Bob and he had hoped to have one more trip with the two oldest boys.Bob loved his grandchildren very much and couldn’t wait to bring them donuts on Saturday mornings or have a little present for each of them every time he and Mel visited. They would run to “Papa” with big hugs, and he beamed with happiness. Our five little blessings are Brendan, Caiden, Davis, Avery, and Cash.Bob is also survived by his brother Kevin (Tammy) and nephew Kevin, Jr. He leaves behind many friends, and we hope memories of him will be in your hearts forever.Finally, Bob was a passionate volunteer with German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California. He helped at adoptions, took rescue dogs for walks, drove long distances to transport dogs and was in the process of joining the Board of Directors when he became ill this year.We would like to thank the Stanford Cancer Center and Washington Hospital doctors and nurses for doing their best to treat Bob’s cancer. We especially thank our home health nurse, Cassie, who became a very close friend and brightened Bob’s day with her weekly visits.Services will be held at Chapel of the Chimes, 32992 Mission Blvd, Hayward, Wednesday, December 4th, at 11 a.m. with a reception following at Woodland Estates, 2494 Oakes Dr, Hayward. We welcome all friends who would like to share in our celebration of Bob’s life.In lieu of flowers, the family requests you do something special with your family this holiday season and raise a toast in his memory.
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