JOHN O’CONNOR

John O’Connor, 65, of Marble Falls died April 24, 2011. He was born in St. Joseph, Mo., Sept. 4, 1945.

He married Nancy Lea Baxter Feb. 6, 1965, and they were married 46 years until his death. They had four children he nicknamed “Eeny,” “Meeny,” “Miney” and “Whoops.”

He was a great husband, father, friend and businessman.

“Poppy,” as he was known to his family, always said, “We all have a ticket out of here, we just don’t know when it will be punched” — unfortunately, his came way too soon.

He accomplished much during his life, most of it pertaining to helping children.

He was the president of the Little League for years and sponsored a team for three decades.

His accomplishments included helping start the athletic fields behind the old Colt Elementary School and a girls’ softball program.

He enjoyed going to the basketball games and seeing the little ones grow and prosper, especially the children of the parents who used to hang out at the house when they were little.

He was also a sponsor of the Highland Lakes Legacy Fund ever since it started at Marble Falls High School.

The Toys for Tots program was another program he enjoyed assisting.

Also, one year he bought a storage shed full of shoes with 1,000 pairs to distribute throughout the county to children.

The Coats for Kids program also was important to him each year. He worked with the Lions Club and for several years he would pay for the cleaning of the coats before they were handed out to needy children and families.

In addition to his other charitable deeds, one of the biggest things he did for children was being a sponsor at the Burnet County Junior Livestock Show every year since 1976.

He loved watching the kids grow and show their animals. He also enjoyed seeing them grow up and sometimes saw three different generations go through the ring.

This year show officials created an award called the John O’Connor Sportsmanship Award that recognizes a child who raises steers and exhibits good sportsmanship.

He also provided assistance for causes such as emergency medical services, fire services and Relay for Life.

Anytime there was a function, he was there to help.

His first job was in a cattle slaughter plant, and for fun sometimes, he’d put an eyeball from a cow in his lunch box for his wife to find. It usually scared the tar out of her. He also worked for a cattle buying and sales company in Sioux City, Iowa.

After returning to Missouri, he worked in sales, then started with Firestone. He began as a service manager, and always got top billing from Akron, Ohio, home of the corporate office. He became the credit manager, and he cleaned up all the past due bills, and again his accomplishments were noted by the main office.

He went on to become assistant manager and manager, and that’s when he knew if he could do it for Firestone, he could do it for himself.

He opened his first store in Warrensburg, Mo., and loved it there.

When he moved to Marble Falls in 1976, he opened O’Connor Tires. In 1981, he started the lubrication and change service next door. He eventually built 11 other lube stations,10 in Texas and one in Kansas.

In 1999 he established O’Connor Trailers, and kept running it even from his chair until the very last day.

He also got his pilot’s license and had his own plane.

One of his favorite things was going to the “Table of Knowledge” every morning at Charlie’s Country Store & Cafe of Marble Falls and solving the world’s problems. That was a great way to start the day. If someone started to tell a joke, you can bet that he had already heard that one.

There wasn’t a day that went by that the family didn’t get a phone call saying, “What is the joke for today?

In addition to his wife, survivors include daughters Patty Kirkpatrick and husband Stanley, and Kimmy Wilson and husband Neil, all of Marble Falls; sons John O’Connor and wife Karen of Llano, and Scott Ryan O’Connor and wife Carrie from Hutto; mother Betty O’Connor from Marble Falls; grandchildren Cooper and Cody Wilson, Jack Cahalane, and Brantley and Braedyn O’Connor.

He was preceded in death by sons Justin Lee O’Connor and Scott O’Connor.

A visitation is 6-8 p.m. April 29 at Clements-Wilcox Funeral Home, 1805 U.S. 281 North in Marble Falls, (830) 693-4373.

A funeral service is 10 a.m. April 30 in the Marble Falls High School auditorium, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls, with Kenneth Womack and Danielle Casey officiating.

Interment will follow at Lakeland Hills Memorial Park.

Pallbearers include Ray Cagle, Jim Dipprey, Stan Collier, Johnny Berlin, Richie Giesecke and Wade Hibler.

Honorary pallbearers are Ron Schreiber, Duane Michel, Martin McLean, Jack Cahalane, Cody and Cooper Wilson, and Brantley and Braedyn O’Connor.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Johnny O’Connor Memorial Fund c/o Highland Lakes Legacy Fund, P.O. Box 234, Marble Falls, TX 78654.

Condolences may be offered at www.clementswilcoxfuneralhome.com.