Page 42 - SEPTEMBE 2018 Newsletter

Tom O’Connor, a 40-year veteran of the Department who was partners with Tom Skelly, hits a tee shot.
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are currently serving on the job. His beloved wife of 55 years, Marianne, was known as one of the all-time great police officers’ wives.
Amidst all the pomp and circumstance of the 2018 outing, it proved out of reach to get the Skelly clan together for a family photo. And it would have taken a special wide-angle lens. But the tributes to Thomas flowed like the post-round beverages.
“You know, he was just the kind of guy who wanted to give, give, give,” recalled Bob Regal, another grandson who has been on for two years. “He didn’t even like golf that much. He just wanted to see everybody having fun. That’s what made it so spe- cial for him.”
Tom O’Connor, a detective who retired from Area 4 following a 40-year career, was Thomas Skelly’s partner when they were young and worked in Area 6 and Area 7. O’Connor has been playing in the Lodge 7 outing since the days when it was held at St. Andrews Golf and Country Club in West Chicago, before
16th District Officer Joe Kelly, left, was one of five players who participated in the Million Dollar Shootout.
it moved to Cog Hill in Lemont. He remembers Skelly being a much better detective than he was a golfer, as well as a guy who lived for the meet-and-greet because of his unforgettable sense of humor.
Other tributes described Skelly as a police officer who didn’t see red, white or orange. To him, everybody was blue.
“What I know of him was in the union,” Mark Regal added.
CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2018 41
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