Remembrances: O'Connor's Basketball Passion Came Through as Player, Coach and Official
Schaumburg Star and Assistant Coach on 2001 Boys State Champions Passed Away at 50 on Wednesday
The message from retired Schaumburg teacher Stu Hymen on Thursday night about the death of Kelly O’Connor was a real shocker.
“I’m truly saddened by the passing of Kelly,” Hymen said on Facebook. “Kelly was a sweetheart. May she rest in peace.”
I don’t know the details of her passing Wednesday at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, according to her obituary, but it was clearly stunning news to many others throughout the Mid-Suburban League. The 50-year-old O’Connor, a three-sport athlete who graduated from Schaumburg in 1991, was part of arguably the league’s greatest moment as an assistant coach for her alma mater when it won the 2001 boys basketball state title.
That was also her third and final year as a boys assistant at Schaumburg before she moved over to Conant to take over the girls program. O’Connor’s obituary mentioned her “lifelong passion” for basketball that included becoming an official.
“Terrible news ….. so sorry to hear this,” longtime Barrington girls coach Babbi Barreiro said on Twitter.
“So, so heartbreaking to hear this,” recently retired Hersey girls coach Mary Fendley said on Twitter. “I really enjoyed getting to know Kelly while coaching against her when she was at Conant and then when she became an official. Sincerest condolences to her family.”
O’Connor was a two-year starter and three-year varsity player in basketball for Joe Breault at Schaumburg. She made the Daily Herald’s All-Area team as a senior in 1991 when she averaged 11.4 points a game overall and 4.9 assists in MSL South play for a team that finished 19-8. She scored a school-record 22 points in one quarter and hit 6 consecutive 3-pointers en route to a career-high 28 points in a win over Conant.
“Kelly put on quite an offensive show,” Joe Breault told the Herald.
O’Connor also averaged 13 points a game as a junior for an 18-10 team and went on to play at Army. She returned to her alma mater and coached the freshman “B” team as Bob Williams’ program finished fourth in the state in 1999, lost a 1-point sectional final heartbreaker to New Trier in 2000 and upset Eddy Curry and Thornwood in the 2001 Class AA title game before a full house in Peoria.
O’Connor had been a business teacher at Conant for more than 10 years. She was an active member of St. James Catholic Church in Arlington Heights, where she was a member of Women of St. James, Mental Health Ministry and served as a Eucharistic Minister.
O’Connor, who turned 50 in January, is survived by her son Gregory, grandson Logan, mother Carol and brother Michael. Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m., Monday at Glueckert Funeral Home in Arlington Heights and from 9:15-10 a.m., Tuesday prior to a Funeral Mass at St. James Catholic Church in Arlington Heights. Internment will follow at St. Michael the Archangel Cemetery in Palatine.
Well done, Marty. May Kelly rest in peace.