Northeast Chapter President Tim O’Connor Dies
Popular Albany Native Was Accomplished Advocate of Accounting Education

By Jay Dismukes

Timothy Nicholas O’Connor died suddenly last month at the age of 52. An Albany native and lifelong resident, he was the current president of the New York State Society of CPAs’ Northeast Chapter.

Married to Barbara Devine O’Connor and the father of three, Laura, Jack and Kellie, O’Connor was a well-known figure in the Albany area who had many close ties to the community. Among his civic interests, he was a past board member of the Albany Medical Center Foundation, the Albany Country Club, the Center for the Disabled and Hope House Inc.

“Tim was a popular guy around town,” said his friend and firm colleague Kevin McCoy. “The turnout at his wake certainly showed how many people he was involved with on a personal and business relationship over his entire life.”

O’Connor served as director and stockholder of Marvin and Company, P.C., in Latham, N.Y., where he had been a partner for 13 years. A graduate of Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., O’Connor played a significant role in the firm’s audit practice, fostering strong connections with his clients. The firm, McCoy said, “is going to have to work very hard to step into those relationships.”

O’Connor’s success in the accounting profession extended to his involvement with the Northeast Chapter, too.

Having joined the Society in 1989, O’Connor held a number of offices with the Northeast Chapter, and is remembered for wanting to move the chapter forward and make changes that would have a meaningful impact on the profession and the public. By all accounts, he certainly fulfilled those aspirations.

“From my impressions, education of students was really where his heart was, in trying to provide that for high school and college kids,” said O’Connor’s fellow chapter officer, President-Elect Christine Paul.

According to Paul, who will assume the presidency of the chapter, O’Connor was directly responsible for launching the chapter’s Cooperation with Educators Committee. Because of bonds he formed with college professors, O’Connor established a link between local educators and the committee to interest college students in the accounting profession and assist those who already are pursuing their CPA.

O’Connor didn’t stop there, though. He also found a way to significantly enhance the Society’s Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession program, which encourages minority high school students to consider a career in accounting. This past July the chapter hosted its first residential COAP session for eight high school students, who attended a one-week academic program at the College of St. Rose in Albany.

In addition to exposing these kids to college life and the career possibilities that lie ahead, O’Connor took the COAP program to another level by working with Albany’s Youth and Family Services Department to provide these eight students with five-week paid internships.

“Tim did the footwork in getting the (COAP) program coordinated with the city of Albany,” Paul said. “That was really all his doing.”

The members of the Northeast Chapter’s Executive Committee will soon meet to determine how they want to honor O’Connor’s commitment to the accounting profession and the Society and his effective leadership of a chapter that he made certain has an important role in the community.

“The Society will deeply miss Tim O’Connor,” NYSSCPA President John Kearney said. “His work with the organization and the Northeast Chapter set a defining example for all of us, as members, to follow.”

If you would like to pay tribute to O’Connor, his family asks that you send a contribution to the American Heart Association at 440 New Karner Road, Albany, NY, 12205.