MARY MARGARET "PEGGY" O'CONNOR

O'CONNOR, Mary Margaret (O'Brien) "Peggy" Age 87, of Wellesley, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully at home, on September 25, 2025, surrounded by her family. Born in 1937 in Hollis Hills, Queens, she was the eldest of Harry and Doris O'Brien's six children. She and her younger sisters and brother shared a lively sense of humor and deep friendship that endured over the years. Peggy was educated in Catholic schools, an experience that grounded her faith, and she remained a devout Catholic throughout her life. Her childhood summers at Peach Lake - active days spent with family and friends - gave her a lifelong taste for close connections and a busy household. While attending St. John's University, she met Jack O'Connor, and for 62 years they shared a partnership marked by love, humor, and a joint commitment to family. Together they raised six children while living in New York, Connecticut, Illinois, and eventually Massachusetts. With each move Peggy built a new home, rooted her children in their communities, and turned the dinner table into a nightly forum - spirited and never dull. She was steady, practical, and quick with a thoughtful opinion, qualities her family came to depend on. In Wellesley, Peggy worked for many years in real estate at Helen Priem Realty and developed close friendships through work and her interests in Mahjong, knitting, painting, and reading. She and Jack were known for dinner parties that reflected their personalities - her wonderful cooking, their warmth and quick wit - and for making guests feel instantly included. Her home was always open to extended family and her children's friends, who often left with both practical help and unvarnished advice. After becoming a grandmother in 1993, Peggy found her greatest joy in family gatherings and milestones. She made each of her seventeen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren feel valued, staying closely connected to their everyday lives as well as their accomplishments. A visit to her condo often ended with laughter and her reminders that "it's a long race" and that "everything will work out in the end." She was also the person people turned to when they needed support. Family and friends knew she would show up, organize, and stay until things were on track. Her children and grandchildren grew up with the unshakable assurance that she was always in their corner. She taught resilience by example - showing that life's challenges could be met with steadiness, humor, and care, and that no one in her orbit would ever have to face them alone. Those who knew Peggy will remember her loyalty, her dry humor, and her unfailing willingness to give of herself to others. Peggy was predeceased by her husband, John F. O'Connor; her infant siblings, Edward and Cecilia O'Brien; her sisters, Dorothea Casale and Eileen Reser; her sister-in-law, Eileen O'Grady; and her brothers-in-law, Fred Schmauch, Joseph V. Casale and James O'Connor. She is survived by her brother, James O'Brien and his wife, Willis of Richmond, Virginia; her sister-in-law, Judith Schmauch of Huntington, New York; her six children and their spouses; and her grandchildren: Jack and Sheila O'Connor of Falmouth, Massachusetts (Jane and Jake Slade (Henry), Annee and Shaymus Colman and Katherine); Kevin and Janet O'Connor of Dover, Massachusetts (Greg and Anna, Billy, Matt and Kyle); Beth and John Regan of Medfield, Massachusetts (Johnny and Sydney (JJ), Maureen and Nick Nigro, and Emily); Chris and Caren O'Connor of Seattle, Washington (Griffin and Scarlet); Jennifer and Brian Murphy of Rye, New York (Cameron and Jack); and Mike and Maria O'Connor of Larchmont, New York (Elsy, Max, and Liv). A Visitation will be held at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home, 477 Washington Street, WELLESLEY, MA on Monday, September 29, from 4-7 pm. A Funeral Mass will be held Tuesday, September 30, at St. Paul's Church, Wellesley, at 10:00 am. Relatives and friends are kindly invited. Interment following in St. Woodlawn Cemetery, 148 Brook St., Wellesley, MA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peggy's memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org For online guestbook, gfdoherty.com George F. Doherty & Sons Wellesley 781 235 4100