Hazlet Resident Dies at 67 After Life Dedicated to Healthcare & Volunteerism

Dorothy M. O'Connor, 67, of Hazlet, New Jersey, died suddenly but peacefully, surrounded by her family, on April 10, 2013 at Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel, New Jersey.

She was born Dorothy Margret Messinger on May 17, 1945 and grew up in the Bronx, New York. In 1973 she married Francis P. O'Connor and moved to Brooklyn, New York. She graduated as a Registered Nurse from the New Rochelle Hospital School of Nursing in 1966 and engaged in a life long career of caring for the health of others through the VNAs of both New York and New Jersey as well as several hospitals. In 1985 she moved to Hazlet, New Jersey and while working as a R.N. and dedicated mother, was also a tireless volunteer, including serving as a member of the Hazlet Board of Education to provide blood pressure screenings for St. Joseph's Parish in Keyport.

She was preceded in death by her parents Alfred and Marie Vivian (Davis) Messinger. She is survived by her beloved husband Frank, her loving daughters, Colleen O'Connor-Grant and her husband Hayden, Patricia O'Connor, her cherished grandson, Rory O'Connor Grant, her dear siblings Barbara Hanley and Edward Messinger, and her adored nieces and nephews, Ann Marie Hanley, Jacqueline Messinger, Christopher Hanley and Ted Messinger. She will be greatly missed but never forgotten.

Services were held April 14 and April 15 at the Shore Point Funeral Home, 3269 State Route 35 North, Hazlet, New Jersey 07730. A Mass of Christian Burial will was offered on Monday, April 15, 2013 at the Church of St. Catherine Laboure, 110 Bray Avenue, North Middletown. Interment followed at Fair View Cemetery in Middletown, New Jersey.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Dorothy to the American Heart Association or the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be made by visiting, www.heart.org or www.aarda.org.