John Eugene "Gene" O'Connell

John Eugene “Gene” O’Connell (1925-2023) was born and raised in Waterloo, Iowa, where he attended parish elementary schools and a Catholic High School. He enlisted in the Navy after graduation in 1943 before attending Loras College. After attending Notre Dame University WWII NROTC in 1945, Gene was commissioned Ensign, USNR and granted BS in Naval Science from Notre Dame in 1946. He served in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and was Commanding Officer of the USS LSM 273 in the Marshall Islands in 1947.

He completed an AB in English in 1948, then began a graduate program at Marquette and received a MEd in Supervision in 1953.

Gene taught English at several schools in Iowa and Wisconsin, eventually serving as the first principal of the new Whitnall Middle School in Hales Corners, WI. Concurrent with all this Gene remained in the Active Navy Reserve for a total of 29 years. In 1972, Gene retired from the Naval Reserve as Commander.

In 1951, Gene married Jeanne Doll in her hometown of Dubuque, IA. Jeanne had completed a BS degree in Food and Nutrition at now Clarke University in Dubuque and she was then employed at the Milwaukee Gas Light Company in their Home Service Department.

Gene and Jeanne moved to Muskego in 1951 and in 1955 bought their first home in Big Bend, WI. By 1963, they had 6 children and moved to a much larger home in Big Bend where the 7th child arrived in 1964. By 1956 the O’Connells became a camping family and made a 30-day trip to the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962 (6 children, one in cloth diapers). Easter/spring school vacations permitted many trips to the Smokey Mountain National Park. In 1967, the family went on another 30-day camping adventure to the Montreal World’s Fair (7 children, and disposal diapers now).

In 1975, in anticipation of their 25th wedding anniversary, Jeanne and Gene spent 7-weeks in Europe in a rented car, driving 8,000 miles and visiting 12 countries. In retirement Gene worked at a local travel agency and he and Jeanne took advantage of numerous travel perks. Until the time Jeanne had to go to the nursing home in 2013 for Alzheimer care, they had driven about 500,000 miles, had camped virtually everywhere in the US and Canada, and had flown across the Atlantic Ocean 24 times.

While Jeanne was able to be an active part of trip planning, she was hesitant about a proposed cruise to Antarctica. A family conference resulted in a plan where 5 of the children could substitute for their mother and make it possible for Gene to celebrate his 90th birthday with the 9-day cruise from southern Argentina to Antarctica in December 2015. The trip was a wonderful adventure!

Gene’s children have been a joy to him. All of them completed grade school at St. Joseph’s in Big Bend and high school at Catholic Memorial in Waukesha. College choices have included many WI State Universities, Marquette and some out of state schools.

Their families have provided Gene with 15 grandchildren and at this time 6 greats! Three of them live in Wisconsin, the others in New Jersey, Colorado, Idaho and Georgia. The roster:

• Susan (Truman)East Troy: Retired LCSW Behavioral Counselor; son Colin; daughter Bridget,

• Maura (Tim) Baraboo: Lawyer; Retired Asst. District Attorney Columbia Cty; son Stephen; son Alexander

• John Kevin (Lyn) South Orange, NJ Commercial Artist; daughter Magdalena; son Declan

• Michele (James) Arvada, CO BS NatResources Retired Professional Forester USFS

• David (Susan) Menomonie, WI MFA Professor UW-Stout Sons Cooper; Charles; Ellis; Finn

• Mark (Monica) Atlanta, GA BA Film Adjunct Professor DePaul Film School; Author; son Nemo; Daughter Domino; Son Calvin; Daughter Capri

• Matthew. Boise, ID BS NatResources Fish/Game State level Training/Recruiting. Daughter Freya

Visitation and a funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph Catholic Faith Community, S89 W22650 Milwaukee Ave., (Hy L), Big Bend, WI 53103 on Saturday, October 14 from 10:00 AM to 12:45 PM with Mass beginning at 1:00 PM. Private interment at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove, WI will occur at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice.