Richard A. O'Connell
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Richard A. O'Connell, 89, of Buzzards Bay passed away on March 1, 2021, surrounded by his loving children.
Richard was raised in Northampton, MA, where he graduated from St. Michael's High School. He was predeceased by his parents, Francis and Beatrice (Parent), his brothers, Frank, James and Robert, and his sister, Beatrice Bartell.
Richard met the love of his life, Nancy (Keating) O'Connell, in elementary school. The couple married in 1953 and were a model of devotion throughout their 66 years of marriage. Nancy passed away in December 2019.
Richard served in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Japan during the Korean War and was honorably discharged as a sergeant.
Richard graduated from the University of Massachusetts. He worked as an in-house auditor at companies that included Raytheon, United Shoe Machinery, Emhart and Black & Decker. He served as Director of Internal Audit at several companies.
He and Nancy lived briefly in New Jersey before moving to Natick and then later to Avon, CT. They retired to Cape Cod in 1994, living in Harwich before residing at Southport of Cape Cod in Mashpee and, more recently, at Keystone Place at Buzzards Bay.
Richard spent his final days surrounded by his loving family. He is survived by his children: Daniel O'Connell of Woodstock, VT; Mary Leszuk of Fort Myers, FL, and husband James; Margaret May, of Franklin, TN, and husband Malcolm; Eileen O'Connell of Mashpee; Joanne O'Connell of North Providence, RI; Maureen Madden of North Attleboro and husband William; and Peter O'Connell of Greensboro, NC, and wife Wendy. Richard is also survived by his 12 grandchildren, Caleb and Kevan O'Connell, Caitlin (Leszuk) Steiner, Matthew Leszuk, Benjamin and Siobhan May, Amelia Goodfellow Eichman, Ryan and Rick Madden, and Helen, Finn and Patrick O'Connell. Richard also is survived by his three great-grandchildren, Aiden O'Connell and Jason and Jacob Eichman.
A funeral Mass will be held at Saint Margaret's Catholic Church, 141 Main Street, Buzzards Bay at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, March 10, 2021. Burial will follow in the Mass. National Cemetery, Bourne.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Richard's memory to Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston at https://www.ccab.org/donate.
Arrangements by Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home, Wareham. To leave a message of condolence visit: www.ccgfuneralhome.com