Obituary of Gail M. O'Connor
Gail M. O’Connor, 62, passed away on Friday, March 20, 2026, at Robert Wood Johnson University Medical Center in New Brunswick. Predeceased by her beloved husband Brian T. O’Connor, who passed away in April of 2025, Gail is survived by their daughter Erin O’Connor, and Gail’s brothers Ed (Vera) Creehan and Paul Creehan. She will be deeply missed by her in-laws, Brian’s twin brother Tom O’Connor and his wife Donna, niece Maiti and nephew Tommy.
Born in 1963 in Teaneck, NJ to the late Edward and Marie Creehan, Gail grew up in Parsippany, graduating from Parsippany High School. She earned her Associates degree from the County College of Morris, and then her Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Rutgers University in Newark.
Shortly after graduating from Rutgers, Gail became the accountant for the Morristown Beard School in Morristown, NJ, a position she enjoyed for both the challenging work and the rewarding relationships formed there.
While at Rutgers, Gail met her husband Brian; they were wed in 1989 and settled in Piscataway (1991), where they built their home. In 2002, Brian and Gail joyfully welcomed their daughter Erin to the family. Gail stepped away from full-time work and treasured the time she spent raising and educating her daughter. As homeschool parents, Gail and Brian took their responsibility to Erin deeply to heart. They encouraged curiosity, self-reliance and thinking outside the box. Other homeschool families provided important community and devoted lifelong friendships.
Gail found great joy in the active outdoors; she loved hiking, biking and going for long walks. She, Brian and Erin cherished their yearly family summer stays on the beach in Manasquan and their annual winter trips to Sanibel Island in Florida.
Gail loved to knit and was an avid gardener, a passion she was introduced to early in life by her mother. She was a voracious reader, and fearless about trying to learn new things. Strong and generous, Gail made friends everywhere she went; instinctively kind, an extraordinary listener, she was described by friends as “a light so bright it’s hard to imagine the world without her.” Although Gail inherited Huntington’s disease, and its progresive symptoms took their toll in the last years of her life, she chose to live “on the upside” with a positive life-affirming outlook.
A memorial gathering will be held at McCriskin-Gustafson Home for Funerals, 2425 Plainfield Avenue, South Plainfield, NJ, on Friday, March 27, 2026, from 2 PM to 4 PM, and from 7 PM to 9 PM.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Gail’s honor to assist in Erin’s continued education at Columbia University, where both parents were extremely proud to see her pursue her Master’s in Environmental Engineering.