It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Eileen Mary O’Connor on Tuesday, July 15th, 2025, at the age of 85.

Eileen was born on April 2, 1940, in Brooklyn, NY, to Mary Murphy Gilmartin and Thomas Gilmartin. Beneath Eileen’s warm and loving nature and delightful Irish charm lay a deep inner strength and resilience. This likely developed early in her life after overcoming a number of challenges in her childhood. Rheumatic fever struck Eileen at the age of six, and she spent almost two years in a sanatorium before finally returning to her family. When her father left the family, her mother Mary remarried; Eileen and her brother Tom were adopted by Frank O’Connor. The new blended family included sisters Dolores and Patricia, and they were soon joined by two more, Frances and Siobhan, creating a large and close knit family of eight. Eileen was the oldest of the six children, and took on many of the responsibilities of helping raise the two youngest sisters.

Eileen grew up in Levittown, NY until she moved to New York City at the age of 25 to begin her career at Texas Gulf Sulphur. She prospered in her work environment, rising from secretary to become executive assistant to the CEO of the company by the end of her decades-long employment. Her family envisions her days of working in New York in the 60’s and 70’s in a world of male dominance and glamor as something right out of Mad Men , and she certainly would have kept everyone on their toes with her quick thinking, sharp wit, and organizational superpowers.

Known for her wonderful sense of humor, Eileen was rarely without a quip or funny comment. Even in her advanced age as she suffered from memory loss and health challenges, she never lost her quick wit and warm smile. A voracious reader, especially of murder mysteries, her home was full of kindles and books. Eileen was also a skillful cook who made a mean clam sauce for her family every year on Good Friday. Her home always smelled faintly of her latest delicious culinary creation.

During her tenure at Texas Gulf (later Elf Aquitaine), Eileen befriended a coworker, Priscilla Littlefield, who became her lifelong best friend. After working together for over 30 years, they both decided to retire to Cape Cod, where they lived within a few miles of each other until Priscilla’s death in December of last year. During their retirement years, she and Priscilla became enthusiastic kayakers and explored the beautiful surroundings of Cape Cod. They also took up rug hooking, joining a group called “The Hookers,” another example of her sometimes cheeky and irreverent sense of humor. Her bright, sunny home was always filled with warmth, love, laughter, and her various cats and dogs that she adored and pampered.

Eileen was predeceased by her parents, her brother Tom O’Connor, and her sister Patricia Huene. She is survived by her sisters Dolores Oglia, Frances O’Connor, and Siobhan O'Connor, her brothers-in-law Douglas Oglia and Jared Weisman, as well as a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Brewster Chapter of the Animal Rescue League of Boston (The Tom Kingman Memorial Campus Cape Cod Animal Care & Adoption Center) in Eileen‘s name.

Beloved by her family and friends alike, Eileen will be greatly missed. She will live on in our hearts and memories.