- Date Of Birth: August 23, 1931
- Date Of Death: December 18, 2015
- State: Arizona
Phillip J. O’Connor of Scottsdale, Arizona passed away peacefully at age 84 on December 18th, 2015. Phillip was a loved husband, father, grandfather and brother. He worked for over 40 years as a journalist in Chicago and was an investigative reporter who worked special projects across the country. Phillip was born August 23, 1931 to Joseph and Zita O’Connor in Minneapolis, Minnesota and grew up in Sharon, Wisconsin. Philip graduated with a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Iowa and worked as a news reporter at the Clinton Herald and Omaha World Herald. He then settled in the Chicago area working 40 years as a rewrite reporter of 21 years at the Chicago Daily News until the paper closed in 1978 and then at the Chicago Sun Times for the 19 years. He won many awards for his writing and was inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 1995. Phillip retired from the Chicago Sun Times on September 12, 1997. Phillip was also an investigative reporter working behind the scenes on special projects. In 1976, Phillip went to Arizona with other journalists to work on the Arizona Project: a collaboration of reporters from across the country to investigate the murder of Arizona Republic investigative reporter, Don Boles. Phillip had a gift of getting the story and tracking the information down with most stories being the top stories of the day. Phillip also taught Journalism at Northwestern University for 35 years. Phillip raised his family in Elmhurst, IL and moved to Scottsdale, AZ upon his retirement. Phillip was a great father to his 5 kids actively involved in their lives and being a loving grandfather to their kids.
