Stephanie J. O’Connell, a teacher who made a lasting impact on her students at the Most Holy Trinity School in East Hampton, died on Friday in Roslyn. She was 81 and had been in declining health, but “died peacefully in her sleep,” her family said.
A devoted mother and grandmother and “a dear friend to many, Stephanie will be remembered for the warmth, kindness, and love she shared with those around her,” her family wrote.
She found “great joy in knitting, taking walks on the beach in search of beach glass, and collecting her finds. She also enjoyed challenging herself with crossword puzzles, especially The New York Times Sunday edition,” they said. She “treasured time with close friends, whether at Main Beach or evenings at her friend’s pool during summer.”
Mrs. O’Connell cherished her small dogs, Fletcher and then Jasmine, and in later years looked forward to daily lunches at the East Hampton Town Senior Citizens Center. She also enjoyed cooking French cuisine. “But nothing brought her greater joy than being with her grandchildren,” her family said.
She was born in Manhattan on May 1, 1943, to Edmond Menegaux and the former Regina Deery. The family lived in Washington Heights for her early childhood and then moved to Merrick when she was 6. “As a young girl, she loved playing outside with her siblings until the streetlights came on and treasured frequent family trips to Jones Beach in their 1938 Packard,” her family recalled.
After graduating from Calhoun High School in Merrick, she earned a bachelor’s degree in education at the State University at Brockport, and it was there that she met “the love of her life,” Cornelius O’Connell. The two were married on Aug. 12, 1967.
She taught elementary school after graduating, but chose to stay home to raise her three children, Jennifer, Marjorie, and Michael, in Miller Place. In 1978, the family moved to East Hampton, where Dr. O’Connell had taken a position as principal of the John M. Marshall Elementary School. He later became the East Hampton School District superintendent.
Not long after moving here, Mrs. O’Connell took a job at the Most Holy Trinity School, where she taught for over a decade.
She is survived by two children, Marjorie Egan of Garden City and Michael O’Connell of North Bay Village, Fla., and by four grandsons, James, Daniel, and Patrick Egan and Brett O’Connell. Also surviving are a sister, Regina Solarek of Scotia, N.Y., and a brother, Edmond Menegaux of Annapolis, Md.
Her husband died in 2014, and her daughter Jennifer Miller died in 2004.
Visiting hours will be held this evening from 5 to 8:30 at Fairchild Sons Funeral Home in Garden City. A funeral Mass will be said tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton. The Rev. Ryan Creamer will officiate.
