I am not sure how many of you knew him, but member Luap112 passed away this morning after hard fought battle with cancer. Paul was an active member of our Police Explorers Post here in Westwood for many years. He most recently served as an associate advisor for us. Two weeks ago Chief Chase appointed him as an Honorary Officer for all of his hard work for the town. Paul was most recently employed by the Mass General Hospital Security. The law enforcement field has lost an incredibly dedicated and caring individual. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for that update, we wish his family peace in this sad time.
Posted by: CampusOfficer
R.I.P., Paul. All the guys at MGH have his family in our thoughts and prayers. 30 years old is just too young!!!
Posted by: Officer Dunngeon
What a shock. He and his family are in our thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: KozmoKramer
30? My God that is tragic.
My prayers are with his family. Rest in Peace my friend.
Posted by: Delta784
I didn't know him, but 30 is way too young to go. What a shame.
Posted by: badgebunny
My husband worked with Paul at MGH...he is very sad about this news. I never even met him and am very sad also. You are so right 30 years old is way too young! To his family my heart goes out to you and you will be in our thoughts and prayers as well.
Posted by: Cinderella
omg so sad at such a young age
my thoughts and prayers are with his family at this difficult time.
Rest in peace
Posted by: ejk55
R.I.P Paul, it was a pleasure working with you at MGH.
Posted by: mpd61
Working at MGH, I'm sure he's earned his way to heaven. Rest easy Paul!
Posted by: Gil
Our thoughts are with Paul and his family.
Posted by: EOD1
yeah 30 is way to young. a few years back i had the unfortunate oppurtunity to attend an informal class reunion when a member of my HS graduating class passed from cancer @ 23/24.
prayers r out to his parents
Posted by: frapmpd24
That's very sad, my thoughts and prayers certainly go out to his family, friends, and department. A tragic loss at such a young age.
Posted by: RPD931
Copcar65, thanks for posting. He loved Westwood PD and always wanted to be an Officer there.
Thanks to everyone for their kinds words, thoughts and prayers. Losing Paul has been hard on all of us that worked with him, especially the folks on our shift (12a-8a). Paul was in our thoughts and prayers everyday since he was diagnosed just 4 months ago. Between the short time and the fact that Paul JUST turned 30 has been very hard to accept. Paul was an inspiration to ALL of us as he kept his spirits high and always had a great sense of humor to the end.
R.I.P. Paul. Our friend, our brother, you will never be forgotten. 10/9/05
Posted by: USMCMP5811
Even though I never met or knew Paul, May he rest in peace. May his Family, Friends, and Co-Workes get through these hard times and know that they are in our prayers.
Posted by: kwflatbed
Our thoughts and prayers are with Paul and his family.
Posted by: CampusOfficer
Here is the obituary from todays paper:
Paul Donovan O'Connor
Of Westwood, October 9, 2005. Beloved son of Mary Ann (Donovan) and the late Paul V. O'Connor. Brother of Kathleen Q. O'Connor of Westwood. Also survived by several uncles and aunts. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial Thursday at 10 AM in St. Denis Church, 157 Washington St., Islington. Interment St. Joseph's Cemetery, West Roxbury. Visiting hours Wednesday 4-8 at a funeral home to be announced. Employee of Mass. General Hospital Campus Police and Security Dept. A Westfield State graduate with a Bach. of Science Degree in Criminal Justice. Recently honored by the Westwood Police Dept. as an honorary Police Officer for his contributions to the Police Dept. and the Community. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Francis House, 39 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116, would be appreciated.
Published in the Boston Globe on 10/10/2005.
Posted by: MGH_PD
I only got the chance to meet paul on one occasion but he was a great guy and well liked in the dept. We all wish the best for his family.
Posted by: ptn
Paulie,
R.I.P.
Posted by: DoD102
Rest easy Brother. Know that your family will be taken care of. My family and I and your brothers and sisters w/Dept of Defense Police keep you and your family in our prayers. [-o<
Posted by: USMCMP5811
An article in today's Daily News Transcript.
A Dream to be a cop: Local man made honorary officer by Westwood Police
By Sean Murphy / Daily News Staff Friday, October 21, 2005
WESTWOOD -- Paul O'Connor never got the chance to fulfill his dream of becoming a Westwood Police officer.
But any member of the department, along with his family, believes he had the heart and soul of one, and everyone mourning his death earlier this month from cancer remembered him that way.
O'Connor, 30, died on Oct. 9, just after receiving a citation from the department, naming him an honorary police officer.
"He always knew what he wanted to be," said his mother, Mary Ann O'Connor. "He just really loved helping people."
Sgt. Paul Sicard met O'Connor in 1989, when O'Connor joined the Explorers, a youth program designed to introduce hopefuls to law enforcement.
O'Connor was only 14 years old then, but Sicard said he could already see the cop in him.
"He was definitely, by far, in that group, the most involved, most dedicated in that program," he said.
O'Connor graduated from the program, and went on to get a bachelor of science in criminal justice at Westfield State College. O'Connor immediately signed up to take a law enforcement proficiency exam, applying several times to the Westwood Police Department.
But each time, Sicard said, someone scored higher on the exam than O'Connor, leading to his being passed over. He became a campus cop at Westfield State for a while, and was working as a security officer at Massachusetts General Hospital almost until the day he died.
But O'Connor still kept showing Westwood what he could do. At Sicard's suggestion, O'Connor signed up to be an adviser at age 21 to new Explorers. He became a CPR instructor, and also volunteered many times to assist with open houses and other programs at the station.
"He was around here a lot," Sicard remembered.
But that's not all. Officer Paul Toland said he knew he could count on seeing O'Connor at the scene of incidents like car accidents, especially when trucks hit the railroad bridge crossing East Street, just a few hundred feet from O'Connor's home.
"It got to the point where he was just expected," Toland said.
Toland said O'Connor never overstepped his bounds as a civilian, never got in the way, and never distracted the officers as they worked.
"He was a keen observer of all that took place," Toland said.
Sicard said he most respected O'Connor's idealism. Never, with all the volunteering and offers of help, did Sicard ever think O'Connor was satisfying any selfish needs.
"It wasn't 'What am I gonna get out of this?' He did it because it was the right thing to do," Sicard said.
The department agreed O'Connor would make a fine officer, so when it learned of his illness, from a sarcoma that had spread throughout his body, they did the next best thing. On Sept. 19, less than three weeks before he died, Sicard, Toland, and Police Chief Bill Chase presented O'Connor with a badge, mounted on a plaque, naming him an honorary police officer.
Mary Ann O'Connor praised the hospital security staff, who also gave O'Connor an award, and the Westwood Police Department, noting that the honorary cop status moved her son beyond words.
"He treasured that. That was a great thing for him," she said.
Sicard said the local explorers are going to name their Explorer of the Year award after O'Connor from now on. All the praise in the world won't fill the void left by O'Connor's death.
"I'm sure the (next) time a truck hits the East Street bridge I'm going to be like, 'Where's Paul? He should be here,'" Sicard said.
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