William J. O'Connell

Mr. William J. O'Connell, Jr. age 88 years died after a brief illness in the Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Needham, Massachusetts on Saturday, March 22, 2008. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, where he was also raised and educated. He moved to Guilford, Maine where he spent 14 years as a firefighter for the Guilford Fire Department. He then moved to Norwood, Massachusetts for a brief time, before moving to Walpole, Massachusetts in 1965.

Mr. O'Connell was a fire alarm inspector for the AFA Fire Alarm Company in Boston, Massachusetts for 21 years, prior to his retirement in 1985.

He was a 3rd Degree Brother of the Knights of Columbus in Norwood, Council 285. He was also a communicant of the Blessed Sacrament Church in Walpole.

Beloved husband of Doris L. (Huntington) O'Connell. Loving father of William J. O'Connell, III of Walpole, Gerardine A. McDowell of Alfred, Maine, Linda J. Steele of Walpole, and Kathleen B. Cerullo of Walpole. Cherished grandfather of 14, great grandfather of 21, and great great grandfather of 2. Brother of the late Gerard J. O'Connell, Dorothy MacNamara, Helen Dalton, Margaret Lydon, and Frances Catazone. Also survived by many nieces and nephews.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend the Mass of Christian Burial that will be celebrated in the Blessed Sacrament Church East Street (Route 27) at Diamond Street Walpole on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 at 10AM. Visiting hours are Tuesday, March 25, 2008 from 4 to 8 PM in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home 48 Common Street Walpole. Interment in Knollwood Memorial Park, Canton, Massachusetts. Memorial donations may be made to Walpole Area Visiting Nurses Association P.O. Box 252 Walpole, Massachusetts 02081