O’CONNOR Patricia A

1986 – 1993

English and Social Studies

Left to teach English at Southland Girls High School

From the 1993 School Magazine

Trish O’Connor is one of those rare and very special people, who, despite being incredibly busy, always seems to have time for any and everyone, is always willing to help or listen and leaves you feeling that you are really important and she was pleased to have seen you.
She radiates emotional warmth like a glowing fire on a winter’s day. Her name alone brings smiles to many faces. Those who knew her miss her a great deal.
Here are some thoughts on and memories of our Trish:
I can remember going up to the staffroom for a coffee one morning in the first term and casually saying to Trish, “Anything much happen at briefing this morningu?”  “No, not much,” was the reply. Somebody added, “Paul’s got the principal’s job at James Hargest!” A stunned silence as the impications of that remark sank in! It was hard to imagine King’s without either Trish or Paul because they both played such an integral role in the school. However. time marched on and before long, it was the last day of term and time to farewell the O’Connors at a special function after school. Eulogies were delivered and quite a few tears shed as we were reminded of the calibre of the husband and wife team we were losing to Southland.
Trish was a valued and trusted friend who never seemed to lose her good humour, no matter how trying the circumstances. If you ever needed a second opinion, you could always rely on Trish for a good common sense answer.
How she managed to combine her full time teaching duties with the demands of being a mother to four busy daughters who had to go to ballet, piano lessons, athletics or something, and organise Paul, I’ll never know. Somewhere in between, she also found time to take her mothing shopping and go to patchwork classes’
Finally, Trish was highly respected by both staff and students alike. She is a dedicated, caring teacher who we all miss.