IN MEMORIAM: KEVIN G. O’CONNELL, S.J.
By Jeffrey A. Blakely,
with contributions by Susan Ackerman
ASOR is saddened to report that Father Kevin G. O’Connell, S.J., an ASOR Honorary Trustee, died on January 21, 2016, at the Campion Health Center, a Jesuit facility in Weston, Mass. He was 77 years old.
Kevin first joined the ASOR Board as an Associate Trustee in 1976, and he remained an Associate Trustee until 1982. Kevin then served as Trustee from 1984-1996. During that time, from 1986-1989, he served as Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees, and in 1994-1996, he served as Vice-Chair of the Board. He was appointed an Honorary Trustee in mid-1996 and held that position until his death.
In 1971 Kevin joined the Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi to serve as the assistant financial officer under Phil King, but also as a field volunteer. He was an enthusiastic digger, but digging was not to be in his future. He soon became the financial officer as well as the editor-in-chief for the project, holding that position from the mid-1970s until his death. A manuscript edited by Kevin had red marks on every line, and every comma was duly considered and reconsidered. His care and commitment to detail greatly improved every Hesi publication. This commitment was mirrored in his financial reporting diligence, accuracy down to the agora that was backed by boxes of receipts.
Among the Hesi publications is the following published by ASOR: Jeffrey A. Blakely and Lawrence E. Toombs, The Tell el-Hesi Field Manual, edited by Kevin G. O’Connell, S.J. (volume 1 of the 5 volume The Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi).
Other Hesi volumes (not published by ASOR) include:
Lawrence E. Toombs, Tell el Hesi: Modern Military Trenching and Muslim Cemetery in Field I, Strata I-II, edited by Kevin G. O’Connell, S.J. (volume 2 of the 5 volume The Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi)
W. J. Bennett, Jr., and Jeffrey A. Blakely, Tell el-Hesi: The Persian Period (Stratum V), edited by Kevin G. O’Connell, S.J. (volume 3 of the 5 volume The Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi)
Bruce T. Dahlberg and Kevin G. O’Connell, S. J., eds., Tell el-Hesi: The Site and the Expedition (volume 4 of the 5 volume The Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi)
J. Kenneth Eakins, Tell El-Hesi: The Muslim Cemetery in Fields V and VI/IX, edited by Kevin G. O’Connell, S.J., and John R. Spencer,  (volume 5 of the 5 volume The Joint Archaeological Expedition to Tell el-Hesi).
Beyond various co-authored preliminary reports and reports to the Antiquities Authority regarding Tell el-Hesi, Kevin wrote “An Israelite Bulla from Tell el-Hesi” that appeared in IEJ.
Kevin’s connections with the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem were vital to the project’s success, with the PBI serving as the project’s storage facility from 1971 through, oddly enough, this year. Kevin fostered this warm relationship for 45 years.
Kevin is also remembered for his work as the ninth president of Le Moyne College, in Syracuse, NY, a position he held from 1987-1993 and as a professor in the Religious Studies Department at John Carroll University, in Cleveland, OH, and at the Weston School of Theology, in Cambridge, MA. In addition, he worked for more than 15 years as an administrator and pastor at the Jesuit Center in Amman, Jordan.
Born in Boston, Mass., he entered the Society of Jesus in 1956 and was ordained in 1969. He received a B.A. in Arts, Classics and Philosophy from Boston College in 1962, an M.A. in Philosophy from Weston College-Boston College in 1963, a Doctorate in Philosophy, Near Eastern Languages and Old Testament from Harvard University in 1968, and Master of Divinity from the Weston College School of Theology in 1969.