Edith Brons O'Connell

Edith O'Connell

Edith Brons O’Connell, 84, oldest child, born in Aberdeen, SD on June 4, 1927 to Richard Benedict Brons and Meda Lee Brons died the evening of February 3, 2012 with her family at her bedside at Legend Oaks, in Kyle, Texas.She is survived by her children: Michael (Lynda Kay) O’Connell of Helotes; Tom (Frances) O’Connell of Harlingen; Lynn (Keith dec.) Herrin, Sharon (Mickey) Uhlaender and Kathy O’Connell all living in Wimberley, Texas. Edith is the grandmother to eight: Shawn O’Connell Prytula, Lesley O’Connell, Chris O’Connell, Jennifer (Dirk) Webb, Damon (Trinity) O’Connell, Daniel (Jennifer) Herrin, Chris (Erin) Uhlaender and Kylie Uhlaender. Edith is also the great-grandmother to nine children. Edith was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her son Daniel, her sister Anne (Tom) Kane and her brother Tom (Marianne) Brons. She is survived by her sisters Josephine (Jim) Wheeler of Spring Branch, Anita (Norm, dec.) Jarke of San Antonio and Lorene (Guy) Baker of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.In 1947 Edith married Donald A. O’Connell of Chicago and after their long honeymoon trip to Texas among the blooming citrus groves of her uncle Fred and aunt Pat Brons of Rio Hondo they fell in love with the Magic Valley and decided to move and raise their family there. Edith moved from Chicago to San Benito, Texas in 1951 where her husband with his partner James Ward opened Ward-O’Connell Insurance Agency in San Benito, Texas. Her father and mother, Richard and Meda Lee Brons had also moved to the Valley at the urging of his brother Fred Brons, to open Richard’s Restaurant in downtown Harlingen, Texas. Edith was very active with The Catholic Church of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, working with Most Reverend Mario S. Garriga, Bishop of Diocese of Corpus Christi and later Bishop Marx first Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville and the establishment of the Diocese of Brownsville in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and later with Bishop Humberto Medeiros and Bishop John J. Fitzpatrick. She was a founding member of the National Council of Catholic Women in the Corpus Christi Diocese and later in the formation of the NCCW in the Brownsville Diocese.Edith and her husband were some of the founding parishioners with Father Joe Sammons, OMI in building a new Catholic parish in San Benito, Our Lady Queen of the Universe. In 1962 following her husband’s move to McAllen, Texas to manage Flynn Insurance Agency, Edith and her family moved to McAllen and joined the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. For many years she taught Catholic Christian Doctrine and was later the first woman Administrator of a Catholic Parish in the Brownsville Diocese at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church where she was fondly known as “Meme”. In 2008 she moved to Wimberley, Texas to be closer to her daughters and her grandchildren. Edith had seven months of superb Hospice Care and a very caring staff at Legend Oaks in Kyle, Texas. A Memorial Service celebrating her life was held at Saint Anthony Marie Claret Catholic Church in Kyle.