James O'Connor

James J. O' Connor died in June 2023, in Littleton, Colorado, at age 100. He was born in Elizabeth, NJ, the summer of 1922, the eldest of five children to be born to Irish immigrant parents, both through Ellis Island (1908 and 1909). Jim's father, a machinist at the Singer Sewing Machine factory in Newark before the war, then served in northern France with the U.S. military in WWI. Eventually, Jim's father became a police detective, so going into the FBI was in his blood.

In the 1930's, when most boys wanted to play baseball (Jim played catcher), a priest who'd contracted TB gave Jim his old tennis racquet. It was a wooden racquet that had to be stored in a wooden press to keep the racquet's frame from warping. Jim would go to the school during off hours and practice hitting tennis balls off the wall when no one was around. His interest in the game only grew.

Jim attended Catholic school taught by the Dominican nuns of Caldwell, NJ, and later by the Jesuits at St. Peter's Prep (1940) and St. Peter's College (1947) in Jersey City. College was interrupted for three years (1943-46), for service in the Army Air Corps (there was no Air Force yet) during WWII. Jim was a navigator on a B-29 flying out of Tinian in the Marianas Islands on missions over Japan.

After joining the FBI in 1947, he was assigned to Little Rock; Denver; Detroit; Flint; San Juan; El Centro, CA; Houston; Miami; Washington, D.C. (Bureau HQ); and retiring out of Denver. When the heavy workload allowed, Jim enjoyed playing in as many tennis tournaments as he could, particularly in Miami, Denver, and Mexico City, where the weather was usually cooperative. Over the years, the trophies piled up, but he, while quietly confident in his skill level, remained a humble fellow. After retiring from the Bureau, Jim worked seven years in security for Texaco.

When he retired from Texaco, Jim sometimes travelled to the West and East Coasts for tournaments and competed several times in the US Senior Games in St. George, UT. Winning several Colorado tournaments including the Denver City and Colorado State Opens, he also captured national titles on clay and grass courts. One of the most memorable of those was becoming the National Grass Court Singles Champion in 1997, at the age of 75. As he aged, Jim found he had to compete in younger age brackets than his own to find enough competitors.

An unforgettable moment occurred at the National Clay Court Championships in September 2001, at the Navy/Army Club in Arlington, VA, when a jet passed dangerously low overhead while Jim was playing. Shortly thereafter, that plane crashed into the Pentagon. "We knew something was terribly wrong," he said of the trajectory of the plane.

Jim's family credits his lifelong excellent health and fitness to being a mostly (fie on you, sweet tooth!) careful eater and his love for tennis. Keeping fit was never work for him because he had found an exercise he loved. In retirement he played tennis almost daily and sometimes twice a day and on days he didn't play, he headed to the YMCA for a workout. This lifestyle no doubt gave him his longevity, though that can have its lonely side. Jim outlived all four of his siblings by nearly five years or more.

Married 60 years to Lois Elliott O'Connor (deceased December 2011). He was also predeceased by son Matthew, 24, in 1982. He is survived by daughter, Rosemary O'Connor, of Littleton and Boulder, CO, who misses him very much. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews who were very fond of him.

Funeral mass will be held on Thursday, August 17th, at 10:30 am at:
St Frances Cabrini Catholic Church
6673 W. Chatfield Ave
Littleton, CO

Military ceremony will be held at Fort Logan National Cemetery in early November.