Michael Anthony O'Connell--Truly One of the Good Guys!!!

The world lost a good man on Feb. 24--Michael Anthony O'Connell.   Mike was born on June 29, 1944.  He was the loving husband of my cousin, Janine.   I loved that he always called her Jeanie.  He was the proud father of Tracy  and and an absolutely devoted grandfather to Meagan and Sarah. And when I say devoted, I believe that Mike rewrote the definition for what a devoted grandfather means (as did Jean for a devoted grandmother.)

In our family, it is always a joke about who is "our favorite cousin."   I must say that I think I can get away with saying that Mike was one of  my favorite cousins because he was an "out"law cousin--married to my  first cousin.  

Did we ever have good times through the years!   Mike never met a stranger.  I remember when they would come to Douglas when we were down there in the summers.   Mike would go out for coffee or a beer and get to know people.   We would go someplace and hear "Hi, Mike!"  And you have to  know that both my mom and Aunt Teresa were prominent residents!!

I was very sad that I was not able to go to the funeral to support Jean and pay tribute to a wonderful guy.

Ted, Jean's brother did the main eulogy which I will put at the bottom of this.  His two granddaughters also talked about what a great grandpa he was.  I was able to watch the service and I have to say I cried through what the girls said. 

Here are Ted's words spoken so eloquently and so sincerely:

"Michael Anthony O’Connell
1944-2022

There’s a new Saint in heaven and his name is Michael Anthony O’Connell.
I am happy to share his life's story…some of it true, some apocryphal, but all of it legendary as befitting Himself.

Michael was was born in San Francisco on June 29, 1944 to Elizabeth Tracy and Glen Solon. Betty and her sister had moved out to San Francisco during WW2 to work in the shipyards. There she married James O’Connell who adopted Mike. Later, Betty remarried  a widower with a young son around Mike's age. His name was Ned Ongaro and his son was named Ned Jr, or Neddie. Ned was as Italian as Betty was Irish! Mike soon picked up the nickname, O’Connelli. Mike was raised in San Anselmo where he attended St Anselm’s Elementary and Marin Catholic H.S.  

Mike was taught by the Holy Name Sister’s at St Anselm’s. The same sisters that taught the Park kids at St Ignatius in Sacramento. In fact one sister in particular, Sister Leo, taught Mike and later his brothers-in-law, Ted & Ed Park. Mike was on the receiving end of the Sister’s wrath when, in 7th or 8th grade, he ignited a firecracker in the auditorium at St Anselm’s. (Mike always had a fascination with pyrotechnics.  As a kid, I remember him always having firecrackers around the house.) Some 10 years later, while he was dating Janine Park, Mike visited Sister Leo at St Ignatius in Sacramento where Ted and Ed Park were in 6th grade. Mike pulled up to the classroom in a green Pontiac Le Mans. We were all impressed!

Mike was a track star at Marin Catholic, running in the State Championships. He spent his freshman year in college at Oregon State University in Corvallis. He later transferred to San Francisco State College where he met the love of his life, Janine Park.
Janine came from a family of 6…Mike quickly became the 7th sibling and a brother to the rest.

Mike and Janine were married in January 1967 in said St Ignatius Church. Shortly thereafter he was drafted into the United States Army. After basic training in Ft Knox, Ky, and Advanced Infantry School in Anniston, Alabama, Mike was ordered to report to Ft Myer, Washington, D.C.  Ft Myer is the U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery. From Ft Myer, Mike was deployed to Heidelberg, Germany and the United States Seventh Army. Mike served as an Aide de Camp to the Commanding General, United States Army Europe.

But enough about Mike’s military career. The most important thing that happened during Mike and Janine’s tenure in Heidelberg was the birth of their daughter, Tracy Ann O’Connell in 1968. Mike and Janine returned to settle in San Jose, CA. Mike spent his career working as a Plant Manager in The Bay Area Printing Industry.  They were active members of St Victor’s Parish and St Victor’s Elementary School. They served in many ministries at St Victor’s as Eucharistic Minister’s, Minister’s of the Word, and Religious Education. Mike served in both the Knights of Columbus and St Vincent de Paul Society.

Being from the Bay Area, Michael didn’t suffer the Sacramento heat vey well. One of my vivid memories of Mike is him sitting on an inner tube in the middle of Folsom Lake, hat on his head, shirt of his back and a 6-pack of Hamm's in his lap. He was The Floater.

There were no strangers in Michael’s life…just friends he hadn’t met yet. An avid golfer, it was easy for Mike to join a foursome for a round of golf. He was able to parlay his love of the game into a post-retirement gig at a local golf course. Free golf in exchange for marshaling services. After fifty years of golfing, he finally got his hole-in-one. Not bad for a septuagenarian duffer. His accomplishment made the newspaper.

Mike’s retirement years were filled with activities…golf, Knights of Columbus, St Vincent de Paul Society, shopping at Safeway, and attending the sporting events of his grandkids, Megan and Sarah. He never missed a Special Olympics competition of Sarah’s. He packed her school lunch everyday.   Oh, and did I mention Scratchers? The California Lottery Commission has built whole schools from the sale of Scratchers to Mike O'Connell. When he was recovering from heart surgery in 2015, he received $50 worth of Scratchers while in the CCU. He went through them like Sherman's March to the sea, creating a pile of rubber filings in front of him. The Nurse came in and asked what the filings were…Mike, deadpanned, told her he thinks they have mice. Mike’s humor was dry and his wit sharp. Akin to his Milwaukee cousins.

Shortly thereafter, Michael was able to connect with family he had never met. He discovered a half brother and sister, Scott and Stephanie Solon, children of Glen Solon. I know that meant a lot to Mike. But Mike was not short on family. After marrying Janine, he was warmly adopted into the Park-Scott Family and never missed a Scott Family Reunion in Arizona. He as so loved by his many nieces and nephews. Nary a Christmas morning passed that Mike wasn’t assembling bikes or toys brought by Santa. He always had the right sized battery required to bring these toys to life.

But the highlight of his retirement would have to be his return to Heidelberg in 2017, nearly 50 years after his tour there. Janine, Tracy, Mike, and his brothers and sisters-in-law, traveled on a river cruise from Austria, through Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. The highlight of that trip was an excursion to Heidelberg  I know it brought back great memories for Mike and Janine and created new ones for Tracy.

There’s a new Saint in Heaven: Michael Anthony O’Connell. A deserving reward for a life well lived and one so loved. Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your Master's joy.  (Matthew 25:23)" 

Those we love are never really gone, as long as their stories are told and there are MANY wonderful stories through the years!  Mike's stories will live on through Jean, Tracy, Sarah and Meagan and all of his family.

We will miss you, Mike.   Thanks for the memories.....................
 

February and March

For me to try to briefly summarize what has transpired between my last blog post and today would be so much to write and I am sure I would lose my audience.  So I am going to try to make it is a brief as possible but still telling the story.  Please bear with me if I don't have dates and times correctly.

I started off with radiation and made it for about  a week before getting extremely sick.  I have always been healthy with a few things such as asthma, which has been totally under control and orthopedic surgeries.  I have had my share of normal colds, etc. where I didn't feel good.  However, this kind of sick is something I NEVER want to deal with ever again.  I truly have never been this sick.  There were days when I couldn't get out of bed and days where I had to help just walking.

Turns out that radiation and the diverticulitis and my intestines were bitter enemies.  I was referred to a gastrointestinal doctor who told me that the side effects of what I was dealing with could be life threatening.   That was enough for me.  Dr. Bhoola, my gynecologist/oncologist said no more.   I really didn't have to go through radiation, but I was trying to do everything that would help to clear me and have the least chance for it reoccurring.

I ended up one night in the ER with my blood pressure being 70 over 50--not good.   They kept me and gave me fluids with electrolytes.

For three weeks, I went to Dr. Bhoola's office and received a two hour infusion of electrolytes and vitamins because I was so depleted. 

During this four week period, I gained 20 pounds then lost it.  Then during the infusions, I was gaining two to three pounds a day from the water.   We stopped the infusions a week ago Friday and I lost 20 pounds over the weekend.    I was very glad to lose that weight because I certainly don't want to gain weight, but we had a Governing Board meeting that night.  I was afraid that I would have to call in and say I had to miss the meeting because I didn't have pants that weren't too tight!   Dodged that bullet!!!

Between the infusions and getting a lot of rest, I am finally feeling much better.  The infusions restored all of the vitamins and electrolytes that I was missing.

This week I had my appointment with Dr. Bhoola. I asked Judy to go with me because I don't always "hear" everything that is said and she has knowledge that I don't have.

It was a very positive appointment.  I asked him about the percentages that I was given at the beginning by radiologist about how much a difference getting radiation would make. He told me that those are just statistics and every case is different.  My particular kind of cancer reacts very well to the kind of chemo that I am getting and that radiation doesn't make that much of a difference with the type I have.   It was my choice to go through it--not his recommendation.  He said that he is confident that my treatment plan is the best for me.  I trust Dr. Bhoola implicitly and I truly like him and respect him.   During one of the weekends when I was so sick, he had given me his cell number.  I never want to abuse anything, but I had to call him.  I texted him and he called me within an hour.

It has been a much better week.   I still don't have much strength and tend to tire out very quickly, but I have been able to at least get myself some water and do a few things.  Believe me, that is a huge improvement,

Next Wednesday, I start the last of the three chemos which will be three weeks apart.  I should be done by mid May.  They will do a PET Scan and Dr. Bhoola said for us to plan our summer in Montana.

After this experience, I found out that no matter how strong you think you are, you might not be.  I had some pretty down days emotionally as well as physically,  I am not quite back physically, but I am emotionally.

TO BE CONTINUED..............................!

One Third Plus One Day Completed!

 I MADE IT THROUGH THE WHOLE WEEK GETTING THIS "C" RADIATED OUT OF ME!  Each day I was nervous.  A few posts ago, I wrote that I thought I had the preparation all figured out and no more worries!  Was I ever wrong about that!  However, I am doing everything the doctor tells me to do and a few things that Judy is helping me with so all week was fairly good.  

As of yesterday, I fully completed 10 treatments with 17 to go.  When I met with the doctor on Wednesday, he felt things were going really well, but that he wanted to take it week to week because I could need a rest break somewhere during this time.  I told him I wanted to get it done but I will also do whatever he says.

We also had a talk about how difficult social isolation has been for me.  He encouraged me to get out more.  So Thursday Dave and I went to the casino for a bit and then went to dinner (late Valentine's Day) at Longhorn Steakhouse.  Dave had a filet and I got his lobster tail and ordered an extra baked potato.  I like Longhorn as their food is good and all servers wear masks. Plus I have to be careful what I eat right now.  It was just nice to get out for a bit.  I had hoped we could do something this weekend, but weekends really are a time for rest--I guess to prepare for the next week.

However as I said, this is all worth it and although I am tired, I don't feel badly and I am still very positive.  I am anxious to get out and start doing a few more things.

TO BE CONTINUED.............!

The Reason I Continue to Do What I Do!

On this Lincoln's Birthday, I found this article and wanted to share it.  This is the reason I continue to do what I do and serve on the school board during these trying times.  I had the most wonderful role model in my mom, Margaret Shannon.   This article is from the Douglas newspaper.

Sunday, June 23, 1996

By Jame F Crane

A Life of Accomplishment

Margaret Shannon after retirement:

She is so small that is is easy to overlook her in a crowd. But start listing Margaret Shannon's accomplishments and her contributions to her native Douglas, and her stature exceeds that of most citizens.

Among other things, Margaret Shannon

*Was the first female department head at Phelps Dodge, heading up the company's Hardware Jobbing Division prior to her retirement in 1982

*Represented Ward 5 on the City Council for 12 years.

*Chaired the city's Finance Committee for 12 years.

*Spent seven years on the board of St. Vincent de Paul

*Is the president-elect of the Cochise County Fair Association, of which she has been a member for 10 years.

The early years

The fifth of seven children, Margaret Scott Shannon was in the first first-grade class at Loretto Academy in 1924.

"Oh, I enjoyed it." she said. "And I got a good education there."

Her father, a railroad conductor known for his prodigious memory, was ready to take his family to Texas so his children could attend a Catholic School. "But then Loretto opened" she said. "It was a very, very good school. There were music and plays and debates. And students got all of the classroom attention that they needed."

"They were double classes, too." she said, with two grades put together in one classroom. While it sounds odd today, having third and fourth graders in the same room allowed a student to more readily find his or her own level.

And education didn't stop at Loretto's door. Her dad made the children memorize a poem to recite each Friday. "And all of the states and their capitols." Shannon said. "We had to learn those, too. He was a strong believer in memorizing.

After graduating from Loretto, she attended Gregg's Business College. When the young Margaret walked out of that institution, she was able to walk into a job as a clerk at the Arizona Tax Commission.

However, she soon moved on to a better job as a case worker at the Industrial Commission. "It was like the workman's compensation of today," she said. "We had to deal with the claims of injured workers."

The Phelps Dodge Years

In 1950, Shannon returned to Douglas and went to work for Phelps Dodge as an invoice clerk. "Phelps Dodge was a fine employer." she said. "They were very good to me." Apparently she was very good for Phelps Dodge, as well, because from invoice clerk she rose to head the Hardware Jobbing Division at the big warehouse down on 9th Street, the first female head in the Phelps Dodge operations.

In addition to being responsible for keeping on hand everything everything Phelps Dodge needed for its Arizona operations, she also had to keep the hardware goods local contractors needed, because the jobbing division was a wholesale outlet.

"By hardware, I mean ten inch pipes, steel I beams, H beams, roofing paper and things like that," she said.

To give you an idea of the size of the "hardware" she's talking about, that dinky on display in the lot on 11th Street came out of that warehouse. "That railroad engine was used to move the steel beams in the warehouse." she said.

Did her male cohorts give her a hard time? "No." she said. "Never. The men were just wonderful. I had no problems with them at all."

After working for Phelps Dodge for a total of 35 years, Shannon retired in 1982. She had worked in the Phelps Dodge mercantile during high school, time that counted toward her seniority.

"And then I woke up one morning and discovered that the city had moved me into Ward 5 from Ward 6." she said. And that made me mad," she said. I had lived in Ward 6 all of my life." She didn't like being redistricted out of a life-long affiliation.

"So I went down and took out a petition," she said. And she ran for City Council. And she not only won, "But I won big, too," she said.

That spur of the moment decision to get involved led to 12 years on the Douglas City Council.

"On any issue of importance, I always surveyed the ward." she said. Sometimes she would call as many as 200 of her constituents in order to get a sense of how they felt about an issue.

"I always voted what the ward wanted," she said.

"I think that is always fair."

What was her most important important accomplishment while on the council? "We kept the city in the black through the real rough times."

Shannon is quick to praise both former mayor Elizabeth Ames and what she called the "bright people at City Hall."

"We have some excellent department heads," she said.

The former mayor, the city council, and the people of City Hall, working together, helped lay the groundwork for some of the good things that are happening in Douglas today, she said, like the opening of the Unique Molded Products plant.

"The city worked hard to get it," she said. "Industrial development is important. Unemployment is a big problem."

And what of the future? For the city where she was born and raised, where she has spent most of her life, and where she helped guide for 12 years, she is optimistic.

"There's a big market for tourism,' she said. "I'd like to see a one-night-in Mexico-one-night in Douglas kind of package put together. What an experience for tourists that would be!"

And she sees Douglas as being right now "in a position to move. It's a great town, and undiscovered town."

Personally her plans are to continue on the board of St. Vincent de Paul and to continue to support St. Luke's Church. She has just taken over as president of the County Fair Association, and she plays bridge twice a week.

"But I really don't feel all that busy." she said.

 

TO BE CONTINUED....................! 

 

Social Media During This Journey

I have avoided putting anything on Facebook during this journey for a variety of reasons.  I have only shared anything with the wonderful group of people I belong to on Rita's Virtual Diner.   None of them live in Arizona and they have all been supportive.

I have loved Facebook for the connections and being able to reconnect with friends and former classmates.  Unfortunately, in today's politicized environment, a lot of people have no qualms about saying anything that they want no matter what kind of hurt it could bring.   

And that is why I am blogging this.  Anyone can get to my blog, but it isn't out there everywhere.  Plus writing is helpful to me.

Judy's birthday is Jan. 31 and she asked if she could post something.   She doesn't have the "following" I do.  Hers is mostly just good friends.  I was fine with her posting something and in her typical way, what she wrote was amazing.   I was totally fine with it and all the people who responded were so supportive and kind. 

For some reason, I didn't put it on my blog.  It touched my heart and I want to have it available for anytime I want to read it or if anyone else wants to read it.  

Here is what she posted:

Dear Family and Friends,

Monday is my birthday and all I want this year is prayers and support for my sister, Sheila. Sheila was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer a few months ago. She and her doctors remain positive about her recovery. She continues to serve on the school board of the Gilbert Scool District with love and courage. However, her chemo and radiation treatments have brought many challenges that she faces with the same determination to make things better, as she has always done in her life. Please surround her with your love and support…

 I love this and thank her for it.

 

TO BE CONTINUED...............! 

 

Four Down--Twenty Three to Go!

Today was the first day that I drove myself to radiation..   After the doctor's appointment yesterday, I am finally so relieved that all my preparation is going to work  and I won't have to worry about that anymore.  I really do feel good. I get a bit overtired if I push it, but driving to this appointment is really not a problem.  Dave is more than willing to drive me and I had to convince him that I could do it myself.   I promised him that if I felt the least bit tired or shaky, I wouldn't even attempt it.  I do know my limitations and I am not going to take any chances.  It is about a 20 minute drive, a 20 minute treatment and then drive home.   There isn't much traffic at the time I go so it was easy.

The hardest part for me was that I have to get up at 7:00 (not in my retirement goals) and start drinking water in order to fill the bladder.  It takes between 60 and 90 minutes for that to happen.  Believe me, it isn't on my list of things to continue when this is over.  I can honestly say that it truly does take this amount of time with water.   I was going to ask the doctor if I could drink Coors Light instead because I have never had one when I didn't have to go the bathroom immediately.   I was fairly sure he would say NO, so decided to skip that question--maybe next Wednesday when we meet again!

I took a shower, put on my  BIG GIRL DEPENDS (just in case the water decided it didn't need that much time), got dressed and headed to the doctor's office.  There were no problems whatsoever and the radiation went fine.

I will have to make up for the two that didn't work last week, but that is just a blip in the overall scheme of things that I can handle.  I am just so relieved that we  were able to get everything worked out yesterday.   I am supposed to keep my stress level to a minimum as much as I can (which is harder than one would think), but this definitely has been a plus not to worry about.

Got home all in one piece and was able to do a few things around the house before the fatigue set in.   So right now I am resting.   My dear friend, Jill, is coming over early this afternoon and we hope to go out for a bit to someplace close that has an outdoor patio.  For me, the social isolation has been the most difficult part to handle.  So I am definitely resting for my time with Jill as we always have fun and she has been such a good friend and such a support to me during these past months.

So THANKFUL THURSDAY for me!

TO BE CONTINUED........................!

Wonderful Wednesday News

The last week has been frustrating with starting radiation and having some issues that can't be discussed on social media (at least I am not willing to discuss them).   Last Friday, they stopped the radiation about three minutes into it because I had some internal issues that I had to take care of. Needless to say, I was upset and disappointed.  The doctor called me Friday as soon as I got home and told me what to do for the weekend to prepare for Monday.  It was not a fun weekend as I was very worried even though he told me not to worry and we would get it worked out.  So this past weekend was not one of my best.   Worry is not a good thing when undergoing cancer treatment--nor anything else.

I did everything the doctor said to do over the weekend.  My appointment is at 9:10 every morning so I am getting up and drinking water at 7:00.   Believe me, drinking several glasses of water that early in the morning isn't my idea the way to start out the day.  However whatever it takes I will do.

Monday morning I was so nervous when they started the treatment, but everything went smoothly.  Same thing for both Tuesday and today---I did everything right.  

Wednesday is my "doctor" day and they let Dave come in with me.  We first went over all of the issues regarding the radiation and worked on a continued plan which will be much easier for me to maintain.  I am behind two treatments, but they will be made up later.  I need a total of 27 and I have had three successfully so need 24 more.  Before my appointment, the thought of 24 more almost did me in.   He said I may need a break sometime during the treatment but we would decide that as we go along.  After the 27 treatments, I will get a week's rest and then two brachytherapy sessions in one week and another the following week.   Will get a bit of a rest and then finish the last three chemo sessions.  I must say that chemo for me is a piece of cake compared to radiation.  Never knew that.

Then we went over the results of the PET Scan which he had called me about to tell me it came out very positive.  AND IT WAS EXTREMELY POSITIVE.  I love both my doctors, but this doctor is no nonsense and he couldn't have been more positive about how things are going and feels that I have an excellent prognosis.  

After I got home, I was planning on going to lunch at my dear friend, Bonnie's house.  I drove over to Mary's house and met Judy and Dotty and we all drove together to Bonnie's.    What a wonderful time we had.  We all taught together at Patterson many years.   We laughed and reminisced and had a wonderful time.   It was "food for my soul" as I haven't gotten out much.

WHAT A WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!!!

TO BE CONTINUED...............!