Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
O'CONNOR, Bernard
O'CONNOR, Bernard Bart "Bernie." (Council Bluffs, IA, Jan. 26, 1930--Dubuque, IA, Dec. 15, 2006). O'Connor graduated from St. Francis High School in Council Bluffs in 1947 where he played basketball and graduated in a class of twenty-three. He served in the United States Coast Guard from 1951 to 1954. He entered Creighton University for one year, transferred to LORAS COLLEGE and graduated with an English degree in 1959. He later received a master's degree in guidance and counseling in 1969 from Loras. (1)
In obituaries at the time of his death, it was common to read that O'Connor lived a life dedicated to his family, Catholic education and young people in the Dubuque area. His 47 years as a teacher, coach, guidance counselor and dean at WAHLERT CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL was centered around the students he worked with every day. He started his career at Wahlert when the school first opened in 1959. (2) He began as an English teacher, coach and physical education instructor. Later, he was a guidance counselor and dean.
O'Connor began the boys' and girls' tennis programs at Wahlert which produced multiple state champions. He was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame in 1990 and received multiple Mississippi Valley Conference coaching honors. In 1997, he was named National Tennis Coach of the Year before his retirement in 1999. He was a former committee member of the Iowa High School Activities Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. (3) Through his career at Wahlert, Bernie coached sophomore and freshman basketball, sophomore football and varsity tennis.
O'Connor was an accomplished referee. With his longtime officiating partner, Gene Glab, he traveled eastern Iowa for thirty years and refereed the Iowa High School Boys Basketball state tournament for thirteen years.
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Source:
1. "Bernie O'Connor," (Newsmakers) Telegraph Herald, July 3, 2005, p. 4A
2. Speltz, Bill, "O'Connor Touched All," Telegraph Herald, December 16, 2006, p. 30
3. "Bernie O'Connor..."