Doris Smith O'Connor

Doris Smith O'Connor, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and philanthropist, passed away peacefully on December 14, 2025, at the age of 98 in Cherokee County, Georgia. She left behind a rich legacy of love, generosity, and many cherished memories. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Doris was born on January 4, 1927, in New Jersey, to Cecil and Dorothy (Van Horn) Smith. She was the granddaughter of real estate developer William Van Horn and Eva Spurr Van Horn. After attending an all-girls finishing school in Vermont, she moved to New York City and worked at NBC at the start of the television industry. Then she started working at New York Medical College, where she met her husband, Joseph M. O'Connor, MD, when he was still in medical school. They were married for 57 loving years before he passed. They devoted their lives to giving back to their community.

As a young married couple, they lived in Libya, where Dr. O'Connor served the Royal Family as the Chief of Pediatrics for the United States Air Force Hospital. They later moved to Toms River, New Jersey, where Doris assisted her husband, the past President of the Ocean County Medical Society. They were both instrumental in building a new hospital where she served as the only woman on the hospital's Board of Trustees. She also helped raise funds for the hospital through organizing home tours with the TWIGS organization. They were both instrumental in building the first Y.M.C.A. in Toms River. In addition to their charitable work, they enjoyed golfing, sailing, skiing, and travelling together. After residing in New Jersey for many years, they retired to their home in Florida. After her husband passed, Doris lived with her daughter, Patti, and her family for the past five years in Georgia.

Doris is survived by her brother Cecil William Smith and her sister Carolyn Smith Payne; her four children: Joseph M. O'Connor Jr., Dorothy O. Dent, Patricia O. Quagliaroli, and Nancy O. Wong; her four grandchildren: Lindsey Adam, Blakeley Dent, Conrad Quagliaroli, Jr., and Ashley Bossert; and her six great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held for loved ones later in the year at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, where Doris was a parishioner. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church can be made in memory of Doris O'Connor at: https://osvhub.com/saintmichaelcc/giving/funds.