Mr. James W. O’Connell, 93, of Onancock, died peacefully at his home on Dec. 20, 2025.
Born Jan. 25, 1932, in South Amboy, N.J., James, better known as “Red” or the “Mayor of Hicks Lane” to his close friends, was the son of John and Helen Hackett O’Connell.
Rather than wait to be drafted into military service during the Korean War, Jim and many of his classmates enlisted in the U.S. Navy before graduation from Saint Mary’s High School in 1951.
After completing basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Jim was assigned to the USS Sarsi as a radio man. As fate would have it, shortly after midnight on Aug. 27, 1952, as Jim had just awakened to stand a watch, the USS Sarsi hit an enemy mine three miles off the North Korean coast and began sinking almost immediately. Wearing only his “skivvies” and rosary beads around his neck, Jim followed the order to abandon ship. The Sarsi slipped below the sea in less than 20 minutes, with no time at all to transmit a distress signal. The crew of the Sarsi battled the sea for over seven hours before finally being rescued by other US warships. Jim was the last living survivor of the Sarsi’s sinking, so now the reunion of the Sarsi crew is finally complete.
After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy, Jim attended Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. There he played intercollegiate basketball with one of his best friends and St. Mary’s High School classmates, Luke Lenahan.
He returned to South Amboy and began work as a lineman with Jersey Central Power & Light, eventually becoming a lineman first class. During his years in South Amboy, Jim was a charter member of the South Amboy Irish American Association, playing an integral role in organizing South Amboy’s very first St. Patrick’s Day parade. He was also a charter member of the South Amboy Elks Lodge 784, as well as a member of the Friendly Sons of Shillelagh, Knights of Columbus, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the US Navy Fleet Tug Association, and of course, the Classic Thunderbird Club International.
After retiring from JCP&L in 1994, Jim retired to the waterfront home he had built in Onancock.
For decades, he had enjoyed his hobby of tinkering with vintage automobiles, with his favorite being a 1957 Ford Thunderbird. He was also a lifelong Notre Dame football fanatic, as evidenced by his license plate “ND FAN.” However, the most important role that he held during his 93 years was that of a father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He loved his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren so very much.
Jim is survived by his son, Col. John “Jack” F. O’Connell, USAF (Ret.), of Alexandria, and his daughter, Tara Marie Geant and her husband, Thomas A. Geant, of Manalapan, N.J.; his grandchildren, Meghan Conlon, Kerry Conlon Story and her husband, Gary, Kelly Ann Geant, Katlyn Geant Swayze and her husband, Justin, Thomas A. Geant Jr., Erin Geant, Sean Geant and his wife, Breanna; his great-grandchildren, Caileigh and Giamarie, and Emma Rose and Jackson; and his son-in-law, Edward Conlon, of Sayreville, N.J. Jim is also survived by his faithful companion and best dog ever, Miss Molly, his black Labrador Retriever.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Byrnes O’Connell, and his daughter, Sharyn Ann Conlon.
A funeral Mass will be conducted from St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Onley on Friday, Jan. 16, at 11 a.m., with Father Michael Imperial officiating. In accordance with Jim’s final wishes, his remains will be buried at sea with military honors by the U.S. Navy.
Memorial donations in his name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105 (https://stjude.org/donate) or the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, KS 66675-8516, (www.woundedwarriorproject.org).
Memory tributes may be shared at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com
Arrangements are by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.
