A tribute to Miss Carol O'Connell

Carolyn O'Connell, known as "Miss Carol" in youth basketball from Astoria to Los Angeles, passed away on February 12th at the age of seventy-one. The Queens youth basketball community is in mourning.

She was seventy-one years old.  After experiencing some pain in her back area in December, it was discovered that she had a tumor near her spine. Miss Carol had undergone an operation to remove the tumor, which hindered her ability to walk. While recovering at an Astoria rehabilitation center complications with an infection set in. She spent her last few days at Sloan Kettering in Manhattan, surrounded by close friends from her Astoria home base.

Miss Carol had been a fabric in the youth basketball scene in Astoria for decades, coaching at the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Astoria Queens, St. Joseph's CYO program and a number of AAU programs dating back more than thirty years. Most recently her squad was called "Team Noah," named for a friend and team supporter, Joakim Noah of the NBA Chicago Bulls.  "Miss Carol dedicated her entire life to giving her time, resources and heart to kids who lived in the housing developments in Queens and kids from all over NYC. She helped countless boys learn to dribble a basketball through high school, college, and the NBA," said George Stamatiades, a friend and former president of the Variety Boys & Girls Club. "She looked out for them, got them jobs, connected them with high schools, and ensured they excelled on the court and in school." O'Connell had a successful career with the Queens Family Courts' Department of Probation, managing around 50 cases and praised by Administrative Judge Pearl Corrado as 'one in a million.' Her approach built trust: "They know I care enough to argue, yell, and worry about them."

After Probation, she believed in people's goodness and the impact of caring connections. "I'm a New York girl," she'd say. Growing up in Hell's Kitchen and attending St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn, she often picked up kids in her white van from Astoria Houses, providing food and support. As a coach, she emphasized empowering moments: "It's not just about making the game-winning shot... It's about doing the right thing for your team... That's basketball and true growth for a child." Her methods were evident to fellow coaches. Artie Cox, a veteran coach at Christ the King, began working with Miss Carol in the 1980s. "She was a pioneer," he said, noting her transition from coaching girls' softball to boys' basketball to meet community needs. Carol coached teams like 'Aim High' and 'the Outlaws,' always prioritizing her players. Thomas Sanchez, a former player, remembered her encouragement, saying she believed he could be a Division 1 player and even arranged a talk with Joakim Noah to inspire him. Now a sophomore at Fordham, Sanchez reflected on her lasting impact: "She left an indelible mark on basketball in Queens." Matthew Troy, Executive Director of the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Queens, expressed that she will be missed. For the spring season, the Heroes Basketball league will honor her memory with tribute patches on uniforms, as Commissioner Walter Powles said, "We will never forget her bravery, fight, and integrity."

A tribute to Sister Peggy

For almost 60 years, Sister Peggie’s ministry was dedicated to elementary education. She taught at Our Lady of Solace, Coney Island; Cure of Ars, Merrick, L.I.; Little Flower, Montauk Beach, L.I.; St. Joseph Patron, Bushwick; and Blessed Virgin Mary Help of Christians, Woodside.

In 1971, she became principal of St. Pius V, Jamaica, and later served as principal at Incarnation, Queens Village. She was principal of St. Michael/St. John Neumann School, East New York, 1979-2011. From 1978 to 1989, Sister Peggie ministered at T.O.P.S. (Time, Opportunity, Peace, Support) For You, a Bushwick-based nonprofit, where she and Sister Betty Nickels lived in community with homeless young women trying to improve their lives. She helped organize and served as treasurer of the Catholic Urban Educators, an association of religious sisters and brothers who met annually in Chicago to develop teaching methods to assist in working with minority children and their families. St. Michael’s parish was an early member of the East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC), and Sister Peggie supported EBC’s mission to build low-income homes in East New York and Brownsville. She and Sister Sheila Buhse lived in one of the homes and ministered to the community for 26 years. While serving at St. Michael’s, Sister Peggie visited families in their homes, ministered to those in the hospital, accompanied parishioners to night court and provided opportunities for teenage girls in the parish to work among the poor in Mexico. In retirement, she was a fundraiser for Futures in Education, writing letters of appeal to Catholic school alumni and raising thousands of dollars to defray tuition costs for families. She is survived by her sister Clare. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Aug. 20 at the Motherhouse in Amityville. Burial followed in the Sisters’ cemetery.