Leonora Gladys O
’Connor died Dec. 11, 2004, after a long battle with Parkinson’s
disease. She was 92.
Leonora Gladys O’Connor died Dec. 11, 2004, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 92.
A native of San Francisco, she moved to Morgan Hill to be closer to family, after having lived on the Peninsula for years. Leonora was a member of the “greatest generation” and often commented on how she went from horse and buggies, to men on the moon, to computers and cell phones … it always astounded her what she had experienced during her lifetime.
She would often comment how she was a “Millionaire in Friends”… and indeed she was. Her life was filled with family, friends and entertaining. Her New Year’s Day open house was a long awaited event in her neighborhood. Even with limited means she always managed to assemble an elegant gathering in food and in spirit.
A lover of the garden who could literally grow anything she put her hands on, she loved to see acres of fresh-tilled soil and dream of what she could plant. She took such pleasure in hunting for leaves at Thanksgiving with her grandchildren and receiving her yearly poinsettia, which she managed to keep blooming well into the next season.
She is survived by children William and Patricia O’Connor, Timothy O’Connor, Kathleen and Steven Shaffer; grandchildren Jennifer and Jimmy Shaffer of Morgan Hill and Pamela Benson Alvarado of San Jose.
A Memorial Mass took place at St. Catherine’s Church in Morgan Hill for the immediate family. Her remains will be scattered in the Sierra near Pinecrest.
