Feb. 23, 2009 — Think firefighting on St. John and the name Robert O'Connor Sr. immediately comes to mind. Indeed, the fire station in Cruz Bay is named in his honor, just a few steps from the Texaco Station he helped his son, former Sen. Robert O'Connor Jr., run for many years.
The Texaco station is now closed to make way for the Cruz Bay roundabout, but the O'Connor name lives on through his many relatives living on St. John. In addition to his son, he had two daughters. They are Naomi Varlack and Edna Freeman. His wife is Alice O'Connor.
The elder O'Connor was born on St. John on Feb. 16, 1921. He died Oct. 2, 1998.
His son remembers him as a people person.
"He got along with everybody," O'Connor said.
His father did a lot with sports and, according to O'Connor, helped a lot of people get to Puerto Rico for medical care.
After attending the Bethany School, he started working for the local government in 1939. He worked as a laborer, truck driver and eventually a Public Works Department foreman.
Back when St. John had only a volunteer fire department, he volunteered for years with such well-known St. John residents as Victor Sewer and Sen. Theovald Moorehead.
"They had a little Jeep with a trailer behind it," his son said.
When the department went professional in 1956, he became the first — and, for a long time, the only — professional firefighter, with volunteers assisting him. As the department grew, O'Connor rose up the ranks. He eventually was named captain.
Julien Harley, who eventually became the Fire Service's deputy chief, recalled that O'Connor was the kind of person who gave everyone who worked for him opportunities to get ahead.
"He didn't hold back information from you," Harley said.
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