Vincent James, AKA “Buckwheat” “Buck” “Jimmy” “Jim” “Uncle Jim” “Vince” “Cakes” O’Connor, 74, of Windham Township and the Portage County area, beloved brother, uncle, cousin, and friend, passed peacefully on May 21, 2023, at Hillcrest Hospital, in Cleveland. He was born October 27, 1948, in Bedford, the first-born son to William and Jacqueline (nee Frenza) O’Connor.
When Jim was young, the family moved to Troy Township, and he graduated in 1967 at Berkshire High School. He proudly followed his dad’s footsteps and enlisted in the US Navy. He served in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Purple Heart Medal after being critically injured in a bomb blast; the Purple Heart is a solemn distinction and means a service member has greatly sacrificed themselves, or paid the ultimate price, while in the line of duty. After serving in the Navy, Jim returned home and studied Sociology at Kent State University. He decided on a career as an electrician, but his passion was riding motorcycles. Jim was a longtime member of the Sly Fox Motorcycle Club. He NEVER met a stranger, and he maintained life-long friendships with so many people across the United States. One of the special friendships Jim valued was Janet, his former wife, and they usually met at least once a year to share a meal and catch up. Jim stopped working as an electrician, but he continued his pursuit of mastering his hobbies. He loved to fish for Walleye and Crappie on Lake Erie, garden, raise roosters, chickens, beef cattle, and hogs. Jim mastered the art of making homemade sauerkraut and canning tomatoes and pepper rings; he loved to share with friends and family and never arrived empty-handed! Jim learned to cook spaghetti sauce from Grandma Pearl and it simmered all day on Sundays. It was an O’Connor family tradition to make Uncle Jim’s spaghetti sauce for Christmas Eve Dinner. He was a life-long learner, was an avid reader, and war documentary watcher. Jim had an incredible memory and had an extensive knowledge of Indian artifacts. He was a loyal and long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan; every year he would say he was done watching them for good! After fifty years, Jim was happy to have a surprise ending to the last chapter of his life—he rekindled a love with his Kent State girlfriend, Sue. They spent their adult lives apart but had plans to spend the rest of their lives together, cooking and traveling. Jim was hospitalized just two weeks before embarking on a two-week adventure to Europe with his Beep, Daysha, and Sue.
Jim will be greatly missed by his favorite little sister, Jacqueline “Beep” (Lee) O’Connor-Wyant; brothers, Will (Katie) O’Connor and Patrick O’Connor; favorite niece, Daysha “Sissy” (Scott Mooney) Carr; nephew, Ian O’Connor; bonus nephew, Clay Wyant; bonus niece, Melissa Fetherston; great niece, Lydia Carr; the last love of his life, Sue Gerber; a slew of Sojka and O’Connor cousins, as well as his many, many, dear friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his beloved grandma, Pearl, and his nephew, Dalian Carr.
Visitation was held on Sunday, May 28, 2023 at Mallory-DeHaven-Carlson Funeral Home & Cremation Services. A Celebration of Life service was held at the funeral home at 2:00 P.M. A burial with military funeral honors at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia will be announced in the future; please periodically check the obituary for updates at www.carlsonfuneralhomes.com.
The family would like to extend a special thanks to Brenda and Jim Bracken, and Amy Brigham for being life-long friends and neighbors of the O’Connor Family on Tilden Road. We also want to thank our cousins, Aggie, Evie, and Howie, for their unwavering kindness and hospitality. For online condolences, go to carlsonfuneralhomes.com.
