Obituary of Nelly Celestine Camilla Marie Callens O'Connor

Born Nelly Celestine Camilla Maria Callens, Nell passed away on October 11, 2015 at age 79. She was predeceased by her husband of 49 years, J. Patrick O’Connor; her parents, Fernand and Gerardine Callens-Beckers; her beloved uncle, Rev. Edward P. Callens, SS.CC.; her brothers, Hubert, Peter, and Eddy Callens; her sister-in-law, Magdalena Gordijn, and her brother-in-law, Gaston Van Daele. She is survived by her sons and their spouses, Michael (Lisa), Christopher, and Damien (Monica) O’Connor; her grandchildren, Trenton, Adrianna, Mark, Timothy, Jack, Erika, Damien Jr., Mary, and Ana; her brothers and sisters, Ulric Callens (Leona Van Den Broeck), Marie-Marthe Van Daele, Herman Callens (Lucienne Van Assche), Lily (Roger) Van Acoleyen-Callens; her sisters-in-law, Marie-Josephe Lenssens, Anita Engels Callens, Laura Callens; and numerous nieces and nephews in the U.S. and Belgium. Nelly was born in Dendermonde, Belgium, the sixth child of eight children. Her formative years were overshadowed by WWII when her country and home were occupied by the German army and her father and older brothers fled with the help of her aunt, a Catholic nun, via “the convent network.” Her uncle, Rev. Edward P. Callens (Nonkel Pierre), helped her to move to the United States in 1957 so that she could go to nursing school. She proudly worked as an RN at the Rochester Psychiatric Center for her entire career. Although she became an American citizen after moving to the U.S., she was first and foremost Belgian and fiercely proud to be of Flemish descent. In 2012, she was thrilled to be able to reclaim her Belgian citizenship and have dual citizenship. Nelly was strong willed in the best sense of the word. She was a survivor and accepted all of life's goodness and challenges with grace and a profound sense of faith that through prayer, everything will work out as it should. Her husband, Pat, used to say that he "won her" at a bingo game at Our Lady of Victory Church, where they met and where her uncle was the pastor. Nelly loved being a mother and gave her entire life to raising her "boys" to be good people with a strong sense of faith and family. She enjoyed crocheting, knitting, sewing, and was an expert in Bobbin Lace making in the Bruges, Belgium tradition. She loved to travel, especially to Belgium to visit all of her brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends who still lived there. And, she was an avid sports fan. She enjoyed watching sports on television, but mostly loved watching and rooting for her grandchildren in their many and diverse athletic activities and events. Although she worked full time while she was raising her family and didn't have much time for cookie-making, she certainly made up for it in retirement. Every visit to her sons in Connecticut or New York came with multiple tins of cookies. Nelly attended mass every day from the day she retired until she became ill. Whenever there was a funeral, she would stay after mass just to ensure there were "enough" people at the funeral to sing. She had a deep and abiding faith and a strong devotion to the Virgin Mary. She was never, ever without a rosary. Nelly was "kind" in the truest and purest sense of the word. Though humble and always shunning the limelight, she was simply the very foundation and bedrock of our family. We were blessed to call her our mother. Family and friends are invited to call on FRIDAY, (10/16/15) from 3:00-7:00 PM at Miller Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., 3325 Winton Road South, Rochester. The funeral mass will be held on SATURDAY, (10/17/15) at 9:00 AM at Saint Louis Church, 64 South Main Street, Pittsford. Interment will be held immediately following at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Contributions may be made to Holy Childhood or the Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary in her memory. For directions or to leave a message of condolence for the family, please visit: www.Miller1889.com. Home Rochester, New York Birthplace Dendermonde, Belgium Donations Contributions may be made to Holy Childhood or the Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary in her memory...