Peter J. O'Connell

1943 - 2018

O'CONNELL, PETER J. born April 2, 1943 died at age 75. He was preceded in death by his parents, Col. James F.X. O'Connell and Florence. Born in NYC, he moved to Miami in 1972 and resided in Key Largo, Florida since 1998. In 2009 he moved to The Villages. He is survived by his wife and business partner, Bonnie J. Blate, daughter Lisa Chiong, granddaughters Claire and Madeline, brothers James of Athens, John of Seattle and sister Martha of Orlando. Peter was an "Air Force brat" who grew up living all over the world. He graduated high school from the American Community School in Beirut, Lebanon. In 1966 he graduated with honors from St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas. He embarked on a career in NYC in banking and real estate. Drafted to Viet Nam at age 25, he returned to Citicorp after his honorable discharge. He worked in the real estate lending division of Citicorp and went to night school at NYU for graduate school and law courses. In 1972, he moved to Coral Gables, Florida to become the Chief Investment Officer of an REIT, Associated Mortgage Investors. His career in real estate led him to consulting work for many NY banks, primarily taking over problem real estate projects on a national level. He was known as a "loan workout specialist" on a national level. Later in his career he brought these skills to Flagler Federal S&L before their takeover by the RTC. In 1992 he married his business partner, Bonnie Blate. Together, they successfully built a real estate business specializing in the bulk purchase of defaulted mortgages and rehab of properties. Bonnie and Peter expanded this business to Colorado where they resided part of the year from 1992 until they sold their last house in 2006. In 1996, Peter and Bonnie started a successful Internet business which they sold to a public company in 2003 after being listed #1 on all the major search engines. Peter was diagnosed with cancer in 2003 and again in 2008. He retired to The Villages in 2009, focusing on his tennis, golf and leading the Civil Discourse Group. Funeral service has been arranged at Mt. Nebo Kendall, 5900 S. W. 77 Avenue, Miami on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 2:00 PM. Following graveside service, there will be a Shiva/Wake at John Martin's in Coral Gables.