MARY O'CONNOR

O'CONNOR--Mary Susan.

49, of Cary, North Carolina, died suddenly of a heart attack on December 5th, 2015. Known by her middle name, Susan was born on December 30, 1965, in Washington, DC, to Leon Richard and Shirley JoAnne Martin Kearing. Susan grew up in the District of Columbia, where she attended Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School. She graduated from St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY, with a degree in English and earned a graduate degree in organizational psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City. She worked for several years as a paralegal at the law firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell and then as an administrator at Columbia University before committing herself full time to her family. A devoted wife and mother, she was fiercely protective of her family. Their greatest ally and advocate, she brought out the best in her husband and their children. Although her family was always her first priority, she found time to volunteer in the community, including fundraising for the GetAbout program in New Canaan, working in the shop at Person-to-Person in Darien, and earning Sustainer status in the Junior League. She also achieved great success in the dog show world, finishing five champions (two of whom she bred), winning the 2010 Canadian national Cavalier King Charles Spaniel specialty show, and competing in the Westminster Kennel Club show at Madison Square Garden. She loved spending time on Martha's Vineyard and travelling with her family. Although a resident of North Carolina at the time of her death, she spent 14 years raising her family in New Canaan, CT, which she always considered her home. Susan was preceded in death by her parents and her brother. Susan is survived by her husband, Anthony M. O'Connor Jr., her daughter, Perry, and her son, Anthony III. A memorial service will be held at 11am on Saturday, June 11, 2016, at the Congregational Church in New Canaan, CT. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or to Person-to-Person in Darien, CT.