Robert O'Connor

September 12, 1960 - May 2, 2019

Robert William O'Connor, 58 passed away May 2, 2019 in Fort Worth. Robert was born in Amityville, New York on September 12, 1960, the son of Vincent William O'Connor and Clare Marie Messemer O'Connor. He graduated from Euless Trinity High School and from the University of North Texas with a Master's degree. Robert was a fire fighter for 25 years in Mansfield, Kennedale and Fort Worth, retiring as captain from Kennedale in 2004. He also served on the Texas Task Force 1 until April of 2017. For the last 15 years, Robert was a Transportation Executive for RBX Management. On April 23, 2016, He met Terresa on-line (Our-Time) and talked for 3 1/2 hours the night before their first date at Texas Roadhouse, their favorite place to eat. They were married for 6 months, 1 week and 2 days. Robert loved spending time with his family and cooking for family gatherings. His favorite saying was "It's not what you wanna' say, It's what you gotta' say!" He was preceded in death by his parents,Vincent and Clare O'Connor. He is survived by his wife, Terresa; siblings, Mark O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds and Patricia O'Connor; step children, Rachel Van Horn and Darren Van Horn and wife Kelsey; and grandson, Boe. LOVE WITH NO REGRETS…written by Terresa O’Connor: One message I want to share with people is that in the short three years Robert and I were together, we NEVER once argued!!! I believe this is because we loved each other so deeply that we always thought of the other person first....we shared an unconditional, once in a life-time, unselfish love. We had too much love and respect for one another to let the "little things" get in the way of what mattered the most....OUR LOVE for one another. You've heard the saying "live with no regrets"....well, Robert and I "loved with no regrets". I believe in my heart that the grieving process I am enduring at this time is somehow a little easier because we loved with no regrets. There is no question of "should I have done or said this". I encourage people to love with no regrets…tell your spouse or significant other how much you love them….say I love you every time before ending a phone call, leaving the house, going to bed….so at the end of the journey we call “life” you have NO REGRETS. We were SO happy together we felt as though when in front of others we needed to not show ALL the love or share all the loving words, touches and glances when in front of other people because we KNEW others did NOT love as deeply as Robert and I. We said on numerous occasions that sometimes we felt guilty to act so HAPPY in front of others. But you know what…we loved with no regrets...so we DID show and express our love for one another in front of others and I'm so happy for that! Robert and I were married for exactly 200 days…for some reason God needed him Home. To be honest Robert’s passing has tested my faith. The below Facebook post mentions yesterday (May 5th) I went to Dallas…took a Lyft ride for the first time…to attend the Dallas Stars play-off game with my daughter, Rachel and her boyfriend, Michael. Well….let me tell you there were SO many “signs” that Robert was there with me. We were married October 14th because 14 is my favorite number….once again…I’m a numbers person. The 6th of a 7 series playoff hockey game at American Airlines Center was SOLD OUT….however, the only empty seat I saw was the one to the right of me….seat number 14! I KNEW then that Robert was there….right beside me!! So I placed my hand on chair number 14 and took a picture. Then we leave the game and walk a couple of blocks, look up and see a restaurant named HERO. I always told Robert he was my hero. He would shrug his shoulders because he was a humble man. It was so true…he was a HERO… to many others….whether it was when he was a firefighter, a transportation executive, a brother, uncle, friend, step-dad or as Boe’s Pops. Such a HERO… For the last 15 years Robert worked as a transportation executive. Many people know he served as a firefighter in Mansfield, Kennedale and Fort Worth for 25 years. His first major call as a firefighter was the Delta 191 Florida to Texas flight on August 5, 1985. Robert also served as part of the Texas Task Force 1 (TTF1), specializing in confined spaces and search and rescue, up until retiring April 17, 2013. Robert was a humble man so many of you may not know that on the night of 911 he was on a military aircraft as a member of the Texas Task Force 1 and was in New York for two weeks. He was also at the Oklahoma Bombing, the May 2013 Moore Oklahoma tornado, hurricane Katrina, and so many other horrific scenes to save lives. His last major call with TTF1 was the West fertilizer plant explosion in April 2013. Robert did not share these stories with others, but he opened up to me and I can’t believe the things he did and saw….MY HERO. Terresa’s Facebook post from May 5, 2019: So today I’m going to the Dallas Stars game with my daughter and her amazing boyfriend. At first I was conflicted....I felt guilty because Robert isn’t with me. But as I got in the Lyft car to head over to Dallas to spend the day with Rachel and Michael I could hear Robert say “good job baby cakes, I’m proud of you”. Robert never missed an opportunity to express his love for me and to let me know how proud he was of the woman I was. But the truth is...ROBERT made me into the woman I am today...HE made me STRONGER and happier than I’ve EVER been in my entire life!! I don’t know how to describe the feelings I’ve had the last four days...there are times I feel so lost and alone and other times I feel Robert by my side...like he’s even closer to me now. Last night I got out of the house alone for the first time for a couple of hours since Robert went to be with God and I could FEEL him walking with me as I ran meaningless errands. You see, we spent all the time we could together...even running weekend errands!!! And we had such a good time spending that time together...I remember one time Rachel went grocery shopping with us and she says....”OMG, y’all are even obnoxiously happy even in the GROCERY STORE!!!” And Robert said to her “we are ALWAYS happy together...or apart because your Mom is the love of my life”. Yes...Robert was mushy....but as he told me when I told him he was sweet...”don’t tell anyone baby cakes”. I need to remember Robert’s words in this difficult time. I have to believe that God and Robert will give me the strength to...now this is where I can’t find the “right” word....I’ve heard people say...”move on, heal, grieve, get through it”...and I don’t know what word is the one to use right now.... Because I will never “move one or heal” because Robert will always be in my heart. And grieve and heal....do you ever completely heal or finish grieving for the LOVE OF YOUR LIFE???!!! These are the questions I have and I don’t know the answers....I’m not sure if anyone has the answers except for God, and he hasn’t shared those plans with me at this point. To Robert....I love you baby, with ALL my heart!! Thank you for giving me the strength I need. #LoveWithNoRegrets #LoveYouMore #LoveYouWAYMore I would tell Robert “I love you more” and he told me “love you WAY more”....in case you wonder about the hashtags!!