A bear of a man who towered over most with a wide smile and a handshake that could cripple was remembered Monday as a leader whose tenderness for his family and devotion to his community was unending.
Tinley Park Police Chief Mike O’Connell would have been humbled and overwhelmed by the hundreds of family, friends and colleagues who cried for his passing while telling stories of his love for his family, dedication to his profession and constant desire to help those in need during a funeral mass at St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr Church in Tinley Park.
“You were a humble man who never expected anything in return for your good deeds,” said his daughter, Michelle Anichini, during the funeral. “You probably wouldn’t want all the attention today, but know that it’s what you deserve and is a tribute to your character and everything you have been to everyone.”
Hundreds of visitors filled St. Stephen Deacon and Martyr Church for the funeral mass on Monday. O’Connell, 60, died Wednesday after complications related to heart surgery. He served as village police chief for 16 years until his death. (Read O’Connell’s obituary in the Tribune.)
His children, Colleen O’Connell, Mike O’Connell and Anichini, read a letter they wrote for their father.
“The stories we’ve heard in the last few days confirm how proud we are of you and we promise to carry on a life that you’d be proud of,” Colleen O’Connell said.
A funeral procession including dozens of police vehicles from Tinley Park and the Chicago area began at about 9:45 a.m. at Brady-Gill Funeral Home on Oak Park Avenue, taking a special route past the police department before making its way to the church.
Starting early Monday, two Tinley Park fire trucks were stationed in the roadway with an American flag hanging from crossed ladders, creating an archway for the procession to pass beneath. Tinley Park officers stood in front of the police department saluting as the procession passed while a handful of residents lined the roadway.
“He was such a big man and always looked so strong,” said Tinley Park resident Elaine Wayne. “I’m surprised something like this could happen.”
The procession included more than 250 vehicles from more than 60 law enforcement agencies and stretched more than a mile long. (Photos: Police, village honor Police Chief Mike O’Connell with funeral procession Monday)
When the visitors reached the church, the Bagpipers and Drums of the Emerald Society played as the procession moved into the church. Rows of police officers stood at attention before moving inside to fill nearly a third of the seats.
Orland Park Police Chief Tim McCarthy, and a close friend to O’Connell, reminded the visitors of how seriously their friend and colleague took his job, setting a high standard for them to follow.
“God Bless you Mike as you walk your new beat with our Heavenly Father,” McCarthy said.
Tinley Park Mayor Ed Zabrocki presented O’Connell’s wife, Barb, with a Tinley Park flag and embraced her through tears.
“There’s a hole in our hearts as big as the person that Mike was,” said Father Jay Finno of St. Stephen, of O’Connell who stood six-foot-four-inches tall.
O’Connell attended St. Stephen and played an important role in starting the church in 1999, Finno said.
“He was a giver, he touched so many lives,” he said. “The world is a better place because of Mike. Those of us blessed to have known him are better people because of him.”