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Mary O'Connor

Mary O'Connor lived her early years in central India, where her dad was a missionary. She loved the country and returned in later years to photograph the places and the people of her youth. She met her husband Mike on her first day at Queen’s University. Mike fell in love with her at first sight and decided almost immediately that they would marry someday. Mary was not smitten, however, and took a more extended time period to consider other options. Following graduation, Mary taught high-school in Ontario and then moved to Calgary to work as a provincial social worker in adoptions and child protection. Following the birth of their second child, Mary returned to the University of Calgary to study early childhood education and became a gifted nursery school teacher.

Mary embraced life with an inspirational attitude and a universal kindness that knew no bounds. Her lifelong appetite for adventure and travel led the couple to take a business sabbatical so they could return to Queen’s University in 1998-99 as the university’s first Mentors in Residence. 

They lived in residence with the students, sharing their knowledge and wisdom from their many life experiences, and helping first year engineering students to adjust to university life. When Mary was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the fall of 2003, she chose to treat her end of life journey as “the greatest adventure of all”; she vowed that she would actively embrace whatever short time was left and would continue to help others to her last breath. Her positive attitude in the face of death had a profound effect on all those she encountered, and her influence has lasted long after her death. As one friend and fellow adventurer wrote, “Mary transformed us all with her spiritual grace, her astounding courage in the face of great adversity, and her ability to step outside her illness and teach us all a new dimension of love.”

Mary’s dynamic personality enriched the lives of many people. She possessed an indomitable spirit in a slight frame. She was the kind of person that you name your children after in the hope that they’ll acquire some of her qualities. Mary considered herself well blessed to have the support of the palliative care workers in the Calgary Health Region, and wanted to help make the end of life journey better for others. The Mary O’Connor Foundation is therefore delighted to support the annual Palliative Care Conference, so that others may find a way to embrace this “last great adventure” as well.

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