William A. O'Connor

William O'Connor Jr. -- KankakeeWilliam Alex "Bill" O'Connor Jr., 86, of Kankakee, died Saturday (March 24, 2007) at Riverside Medical Center. Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Today at Clancy-Gernon-Hertz Funeral Home, west Kankakee. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Teresa Catholic Church, where he was a member for 57 years. Rev. Thomas Cargo will officiate.Burial will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Provena St. Mary's Hospital Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, 500 W. Court St., Kankakee, IL 60901.Mr. O'Connor retired from Roper Corporation, Kankakee Division, after 42 years of service. He was also a part-time carpenter. He was born May 1, 1920, in Irwin, the son of William Alex Sr. and Mary Devine O'Connor. He attended St. Patrick's High School and Kankakee High School. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II and was a member of Bradley American Legion Post 0766 and a lifetime member of the Disabled American Veterans. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and a former usher and member of the Holy Name Society at his church. He was a Chicago Cubs, Notre Dame and Chicago Bears fan. He enjoyed carpentry work, jigsaw puzzles, the outdoors, gardening, his grandchildren and especially his great-grandchildren.Surviving are his wife, the former Berdell Marjorie Crawley, whom he married Aug. 3, 1946, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Kankakee; two sons and one daughter-in-law, Michael and Linda O'Connor of Montgomery, Ala., James O'Connor of Kankakee; three daughters and one son-in-law, Mary and Pete Gooding of Bradley, Patricia O'Connor of Louisville, Ky., Nora Zinnel of Manteno; seven grandchildren, Tim, Erin and Christopher (Samantha Fitzgerald) O'Connor, Brian (Trina Serafin) Gooding, Melissa (Reggie) Gilbert, Elizabeth (Andrew Saffer) Gooding and Brandi Zinnel; five great-grandchildren, Sam Caudill, Aidan, Taylor and Ethan Gilbert, and Alexis Saffer; several nieces and nephews; and several great-nieces and great-nephews.Deceased are one granddaughter, Susan Gooding; and four sisters, Nora Regnier, Mary Ellen Beck, Lenore Duffy and Bernice Mulholland.

William A. O'Connor

May 1, 1920 - March 24, 2007