Sheila T. O’Connor, lifelong singer and prolific artist, has died at 90
She expressed her creativity on the canvas and through her voice. ‘Evenings spent gathered around the piano were cherished traditions,’ her family said.
Sheila T. O’Connor, 90, of Villanova, lifelong singer and prolific artist, died Sunday, Nov. 5, of complications from a stroke at Beaumont at Bryn Mawr retirement community.
Born in Philadelphia, Mrs. O’Connor lived in Rosemont and Villanova, and showed at an early age that she was exceptionally skilled as a singer and artist. She trained in classical piano as a girl and went on to sing on stage with the Savoy Company, Conestoga Singers, and other theatrical and musical groups.
She helped form the St. Thomas Players in Villanova and performed in variety shows at the Overbrook Golf Club and elsewhere in the region. She and her husband, Gerald, also owned a home in Florida, and she lifted her soprano voice often with the Naples Philharmonic Chorale and at other venues.
Her favorites included “What I Did for Love,” “If I Loved You,” “Ave Maria,” and “All I Ask of You.” In a tribute, her family said: “Her passionate love for music was a source of fun and enjoyment for her family and friends. Evenings spent gathered around the piano were cherished traditions.”
As a painter, Mrs. O’Connor studied with Pearl Slobodian in Philadelphia and Marco Bronzini in Florida. She worked mostly in oils and created dozens of portraits, landscapes, and images of animals, birds, and still life. “She did just about everything,” said her son Greg.
She often gifted her work to family and friends, and sold many pieces at exhibitions in Pennsylvania and Florida. Three of her paintings are to be displayed Sunday, Nov. 12, in a show at Beaumont. “She would get mad sometimes when people bought her paintings,” said her daughter Sheila Wagner. “She’d say, ‘I really liked that one.’”
Sheila Ann Toland was born Oct. 4, 1933. She grew up in Center City and Bala Cynwyd, graduated from Notre Dame High School in Moylan, and earned a bachelor’s degree at Gwynedd Mercy College, now Gwynedd Mercy University.
She met Gerald O’Connor through her future sister-in-law, and they married in 1958, and had sons Gerald Jr. and Greg, and daughters Sheila and Karen. “They had a love and devotion like the kind you see in the movies,” her daughter Sheila said.
She worked for a time as a dental assistant, played golf and tennis at Overbrook Golf Club, and vacationed in Stone Harbor. She was a fashionista, an amateur designer who decorated homes at holidays, and she never passed up a chance to play a piano no matter where she found it.
“She had a great sense of humor and loved to dance, laugh, and tell stories,” her daughter Sheila said. “It was that creative side of her brain that really worked.”
Mrs. O’Connor supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Hope Partnership for Education middle school and education center in North Philadelphia. “She was very empathetic,” her son Greg said.
Her family said: “Her incredible talents as both an artist and a singer brightened the lives of those around her. Singing was a cornerstone of her life and a constant source of joy for her family.”
In addition to her husband and children, Mrs. O’Connor is survived by 15 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and other relatives. A sister died earlier.
Visitation with the family is to be from 9:30 to 11 a.m., Monday, Nov. 13, at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 380 Highland Lane, Bryn Mawr, Pa. 19010. Mass is to follow.
Donations in her name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis Tenn. 38105.