Joseph F. O'Connor

YARMOUTHPORT - Joseph F. O'Connor, beloved husband of Patricia Rowley O'Connor for 51 years, died peacefully after a lengthy illness on June 11, 2007, on Cape Cod. He was 77.

For more than 30 years, Mr. O'Connor served in various capacities at Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, most recently as the vice president of human resources and administration (1981-1994) and secretary of the corporation (1994-2005). He was the face of the Laboratory in the Cambridge community. On Draper's behalf, he presented its viewpoint on topics of public interest, such as the Nuclear-free Cambridge Referendum of 1983, and he provided leadership for many civic organizations. After retirement, he continued his philanthropic involvement by serving on the board of Dental Service of Massachusetts, Inc., most recently as vice chairman, a position he had held since 2002 after serving as chairman for two years.

Born June 15, 1929, in Brookline, O'Connor received an A.B. from Dartmouth College in 1951. He served in the Marine Corps from 1951 to 1953. During 1954 and 1955, O'Connor completed the requirements for a master's degree in business administration at Boston University. He worked at Tracer Lab, Inc., in human resources for approximately 16 months before joining the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Central Personnel Office in 1957.

O'Connor began his long association with Draper Laboratory in 1964, when he became the personnel director for its forerunner, the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory. In 1967, he became administrative assistant to the vice president for special laboratories, including the Instrumentation Lab. Three years later, he took on the roles of assistant to the vice president for research and assistant secretary of Draper Laboratory (renamed that year). In those capacities, he was deeply involved in the process of evaluating how to transition the Laboratory from being a division of MIT to operating as an independent, private, not-for-profit organization.

Upon the Laboratory's divestment from MIT in 1973, O'Connor became executive assistant to the president of Draper Lab. That year, he also became assistant secretary of the corporation. In 1981, O'Connor was named vice president for human resources and administration. Upon his retirement in 1994, he was elected secretary of the corporation, a position he held through 2005.

In addition to his wife, Mr. O'Connor is survived by his son, Michael Rowley O'Connor of Denver, Colo.; his daughter, Cathy Hartman and her husband, Dwight Hartman, of Hingham; and two grandchildren, Cole and Connor.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, June 15, at 11 a.m. at Ardeo's at Kings Way, 64 King's Circuit, Yarmouthport, MA, 02675.

Donations in Mr. O'Connor's memory may be made to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 10 Brookline Place West, Brookline, MA 02445. Attn: Contribution Services