Barry Thomas O'Connor

1956 - 2024

Barry Thomas O'Connor was born July 15, 1956, in Quantico, Virginia. He died July 28, 2024 at home in Morongo Valley. He was 68.
Barry was born with cerebral palsy, which hindered his ability to walk, but he never let that slow him down. What he lacked in leg strength, he excelled in upper body strength. He had a handshake like Vise Grips.
In 1962 his father was stationed at the Twentynine Palms Marine base. Barry attended Blessed Sacrament Catholic School. At a very young age he took an interest in electronics. He started disassembling radios and TVs to learn how they worked. The family was transferred to San Diego in 1966. After graduating from high school, he took a two-year course in electronics at San Diego City College.
Barry returned to Twentynine Palms and started Mojave Electronics, a small repair business. There he met up with Jay Corbin from KDHI, the local radio station. He worked a deal with Jay to maintain and repair the transmitter and equipment for the radio station. Barry would also travel to Lancaster to maintain radio stations owned by the same company as KDHI. It was there he met his future wife, Cindy Davis, who was a disc jockey at the station. They were married in 1989.
In 1984 Barry became the chief engineer for KDES Radio in Palm Springs. In 2001 Barry developed kidney failure. He was on dialysis until his wife Cindy discovered her blood type was compatible with his. In 2004 she donated one of her kidneys to Barry. Through all of his health challenges Barry continued to work full time and also enjoyed taking road trip vacations with Cindy and their German shepherd "kids" in their truck, camper, boat and in recent years their old Jeep C.J.
As the years went by, Barry's disability became more difficult to deal with. He was becoming more dependent on the wheelchair. In 2016, after almost 40 years of hard work, Barry retired. He continued his hobbies of working on electronics and tinkering on his vehicles at his home shop.
In April of this year Barry was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer. Due to his kidney transplant he was on anti-rejection drugs. This did not allow chemotherapy or radiation. He was in home hospice care for the next three months until his body gave out. His devoted wife Cindy was there by his side, caring for him through the whole ordeal. He died peacefully in his sleep with his family around him. He will be missed.
Barry was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Helen O'Connor, and his little sister, Siobhan O'Connor.
He is survived by his wife, Cindy, his brothers, Bryan, Mike and Tim O'Connor, and his sister Anita O'Connor Cordell, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews.
There will be a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 7, at St. Mary of the Valley Catholic Church. 7495 Church St., in Yucca Valley
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Mary S. Roberts Pet Adoption Center in Riverside or the Joshua Tree No-Kill Shelter.