Fairfielder Betty O'Connell Passes, Age 89

Fairfield, CT -- Elizabeth (Betty) (Blake) O'Connell, age 89, of Fairfield, the loving wife of the late Daniel J. O'Connell for over 56 years, passed away peacefully on Thursday, May 19th, 2016.

She was born on January 12, 1927 in Bayonne, NJ, the only child of James and Marcella (Scanlon) Blake. She grew up in the Bronx and attended The Ursuline Academy and graduated from the College of New Rochelle. Prior to her retirement at age 86, Betty was a clerk with the Probate Courts in Fairfield and Westport.
After marrying, she moved to West Haven where she became very involved in Democratic politics, as the President of the West Haven Democratic Women's Club and as the editor of the Connecticut Democratic Women's Newsletter. She continued this interest when she moved to Fairfield, working on Ella Grasso's campaigns for Congress and Secretary of State, Jim Kellis' campaign for Congress and running Abe Ribicoff's Senate campaign in southwestern CT. One of her proudest moments was when she became the first female Democrat elected to the RTM. She also was chairman of the Democratic Town Committee. Betty worked in some capacity on every Democratic campaign since 1955 up to and including 2012. In 2013, Betty received the Eunice Postal Award for her work in the Democratic Party.

Betty also served on the Tomlinson Building Committee, the Board of Recreation, the Board of Health and Human Services and was secretary for the Fire Commission. She also volunteered at Holy Family School, as a Girl Scout leader at Osborn Hill School and with the Bellarmine Guild at Fairfield Prep. 

Betty and her husband Dan were parishioners at St. Pius X Church for over 40 years, and longtime members of the Gaelic American Club. They shared a love of history which resulted in many vacations to historical destinations including Williamsburg, Gettysburg, Europe, Alaska, and of course, Ireland. They were very fortunate to have traveled to Europe eight times and sailed on 24 cruises.

Betty is survived by her son, Daniel, of Sparks, MD; daughters, Mary (Bob) Grilley of Trumbull, Betty of Norwalk and Katie (Steve) Wellington of Derby; six grandchildren, Erin O'Connell (Eric Bielitz), Maureen O'Connell, Rob Grilley, Katie (Clint) Johnson, Emily Grilley and Chris Milazzo and two great-grandchildren, Sadie Bielitz and Nolan Johnson.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, May 24, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Pius X Church in Fairfield. Interment is private. Donations may be made in her memory to the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 269, Alexandria, VA 22314. The family would like to extend their sincere gratitude to the staff at Lord Chamberlain.

To send an online condolence, please visit www.shaughnesseybanks.com

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Submitted by Fairfield, CT

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