Philip J. O'Connor

Philip J. O’Connor, entered the great courtroom in the sky on September 3, 2022. Phil was born in Hartford in 1949 to loving parents Joseph and Marion (Stafford) O’Connor. Over the years, he lived in Wethersfield, Stamford, Rocky Hill, Middletown, Cromwell, Berlin, and Hartford, a true Connecticutian. He graduated from Rocky Hill High School, 1967, John Hopkins University, 1971, and the University of Connecticut School of Law, 1976. He also studied at Trinity College in Hartford. He was the grandnephew of Dennis P. O’Connor, former Mayor of Hartford. He was also an eighth cousin a football greats Peyton and Eli Manning, as well as Watergate heroes Archibald Cox and Elliot Richardson, and probably a lot of other people. Phil was proud of his service in the United States Army, where he was assigned to the organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the duties involving command and control of strategic nuclear weapons. He liked to say that he played a small role in preventing World War III. When Brezhnev heard that O’Connor was on the case he told his generals, “don’t mess with him, he’s crazy.” Then it was on to UConn Law School and a few years with the Connecticut General Assembly‘s Office of Legislative Research, where he met many wonderful people. It was also his first exposure to bare-knuckle politics, which persuaded him to enter the private sector. He began as an associate at the Hartford law firm of Gordon, Muir and Foley in 1979, became a partner, and remained there until his death. Serendipitously, the firm moved from Hartford to Phil‘s old hometown, Rocky Hill, in 2017. Being in the legal profession entailed an endless stream of interesting people, adversaries, colleagues, and co-counsels, judges, witnesses, experts, and clients. Too numerous to list. So, thank you all! Phil was a music nut, everything from Chopin to Black Sabbath and all points in between. Phil and his first wife, Jane actually heard the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra perform Bruckner‘s Eighth Symphony in Vienna. Before that, Muddy Waters at Shaboo, Woodstock, Newport Gathering of the Vibes, Wormtown, and many other festivals. Lots of fun with wife number two, Cathie: Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Bowie, Kid Creole, et al. Surviving Phil – at least in the physical sense, is his loving wife Catherine, sometimes known as “hey blondie”, all of her good folks from Tennessee, his beloved sister, Elaine, and brother-in-law Bob Morrell of Tijeras, New Mexico, and their four sons, Steve, Matt, Joe, and Rob and their spouses and children. Remember him occasionally. If you would like donations in his name may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, or to the American Red Cross, where Phil donated countless pints of blood! A celebration of life will take place on Sunday, September 11, 2022, at 4:00 p.m. at the Molloy funeral home, 906 Farmington Ave., West Hartford. Calling hours will take place prior to the service from 2 to 4 p.m. Interment and a graveside service will be held on Thursday, September 15, 2022, 3:00 pm in Rose Hill Memorial Park, 580 Elm St., Rocky Hill. Directions, and online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.molloyfuneralhome.com.