Mary Anne O'Connor

Mary Anne O’Connor, age 84, passed away on March 25, 2020 at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg, Ohio.  She had still been living at home in Perrysburg as a primary caregiver to her husband Jeremiah until early January 2020 when she fell gravely ill. She was born June 12, 1935 to Dr. Charles and Annabelle Castrop in Dearborn, Michigan.  She graduated from St. Alphonsus High School in Dearborn in 1953.  She attended Michigan State University in Lansing, MI where she met her future husband, Jeremiah P. O’Connor. Mary Anne and Jerry were married in September of 1956.   Mary Anne graduated from MSU in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education.  She worked for a short time as a high school biology teacher in the Lansing area while Jeremiah finished his degree in restaurant management at MSU. Jerry’s restaurant management career took them to Minnesota and Wisconsin, where their twins Kevin and Kathleen arrived, and they eventually moved back to Port Huron in 1965 after which son Brian and daughter Ann Marie came along.  Jeremiah realized his lifelong dream and opened The Fogcutter restaurant in 1969.  Mary Anne was instrumental in adding the Vagabond Gift Center to the business operations which specialized in fine gifts, artwork and collectibles.  Additionally, they added a second gift shop in downtown Port Huron called Tomorrow’s Keepsakes. Boating on Lake Huron, tennis, golf, travel, and entertaining family and friends was their life while raising their four children in Port Huron.  They spent their golden years at their two beautiful retirement homes at Terra Vida, Scottsdale, Arizona and most recently at Lakewood Ranch in Florida.  They moved from Port Huron to Perrysburg, Ohio in 2006 to be close to their children and grandchildren. Mary Anne’s other love in life was surely the game of bridge.  She achieved Gold Life Master status in 1987 and actively played duplicate bridge up until December of 2019.  She was also certified to teach bridge and took several cruises where she taught the finer details of the game to cruise passengers with Jeremiah along as her assistant. Mary Anne is survived by her husband, Jeremiah P. O’Connor; son, Kevin (Debbie) O’Connor; daughter, Kathleen (Kevin) Carmony; son, Brian O’Connor; daughter, Ann Marie (Dean) Schlicher; seven grandchildren, Kaitlin (Kyle) Ganss, Tyler (Christina) Carmony, Nick(Sarah) Carmony, Brittany (Octavio) Delao, Jeremy Richardson, Maxwell (Caylee) O’Connor and Erin O’Connor; six great-grandchildren, Jaxson, Emmerson, Kolton, Madeline, Giovanni and Novella; and her sister, Carol Oddy.  She was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Charles and Annabelle Castrop and her brother Charles Castrop. The family’s heartfelt thanks go to the exceptional staff of Hospice of Northwest Ohio who helped make the end of her life comfortable, to the staff at St. Luke’s during her hospital stay, and to their primary care physician, Dr. Dave Oram and his entire practice, who have gone above and beyond reasonable expectations to provide not only exceptional care for Mom, but much kindness and understanding during a very difficult end of life journey. Due to current stay at home mandates pertaining to the coronavirus pandemic, the family intends to hold a funeral mass followed by a Celebration of Life in the Toledo area for friends and family sometime this summer.  In the meantime, online condolence messages may be left for the family here at Walkerfuneralhomes.com.  If inclined, donations may be made in Mary Anne’s memory to Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg.