Businessman O’Connell, husband of state senator, dies at 83

Thursday, April 8, 2004 | 9 a.m.

Robert E. O'Connell, the husband of state Sen. Ann O'Connell, died Wednesday morning following complications from heart surgery.

"Not only was he a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, he was a banker, Realtor, store manager, hotel owner and respected civic leader," Ann O'Connell said. "You could say he was a self-made man."

He also had a passion for politics and pinochle, his family said.

O'Connell, 83, was born on Nov. 9, 1920 in Chicago, Ill.

Before finishing high school, he joined the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1938. He finished his schooling by correspondence. In 1940 he served as student body president while earning a teaching degree at Albion State Normal School.

He served in the Army Air Corps as an aircraft commander until he was discharged at the end of World War II.

After the war, O'Connell enrolled as a pre-med student at the University of Oregon, receiving his bachelor of science in biology in 1948. He then started a career at the J.C. Penny Co., managing stores in Kent, Wash., Portland, Ore., and eventually, Las Vegas, the largest department store in the state at the time.

O'Connell served as western region director of government affairs for Pennys stores and he retired in 1984.

Then O'Connell became a licensed real estate agent and was a broker for 16 years. His real estate career also included building a 150-room hotel in downtown Las Vegas called the Comfort Inn. He was also designated a certified hotel administrator.

O'Connell also owned a chain of bookstores called the Christian Supply Center.

He served on the board of directors of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, founded the Nevada Association of Independent Businesses and served as its president. He has also served as president of numerous civic and professional groups, including the Nevada Retail Association, Las Vegas Rotary Club, Toastmaster International, the Boulevard Mall Merchants Association, Citizens for Private Enterprise, the Nevada Highway Users and Boulder Dam Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Honors include receiving the Boy Scout Silver Beaver Award for distinguished service to the council.

Funeral arrangements are pending through Palm Mortuary. The family requests donations be made to the Boulder Dam Council of the Boy Scouts and the Nevada Chapter of the American Heart Association.

In addition to his wife of 27 years, O'Connell is survived by his sons, Robert, Kevin and Kelly; daughters Karen and Colleen; stepsons Jeff and Gray; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.