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Three generations of arts-and-sciences O鈥橠onnells will celebrate this year鈥檚 commencement

Canton O鈥橠onnell Jr. (Econ 鈥�52) recalls driving his father鈥檚 car to a meeting that would alter the direction of his granddaughter鈥檚 life more than half a century later.

鈥淚 was a 17-year-old kid and scared to death,鈥� says Canton, now 91, who has gone by the nickname 鈥淪cally鈥� ever since 鈥渟ome uncle鈥� called him a scalawag when he was very young.

Born in 1930 and reared in Denver, where he still lives, Scally had received a scholarship from the Navy. He just didn鈥檛 have anywhere to use it.

Though faced with a host of challenges in his early years鈥攖he Great Depression, his father鈥檚 deployment to Salt Lake City during World War II, his mother鈥檚 death when he was 10鈥擲cally had earned good grades in high school and been accepted into several elite universities, including Yale, Dartmouth and CU Boulder. Problem was, none of those schools had room for him in their NROTC programs.

That鈥檚 when, half desperate and wholly determined, he drove to CU to explain his dilemma to the NROTC captain here.

The captain sat his desk, studying Scally鈥檚 file, before finally looking up at his anxious yet audacious visitor and saying, 鈥淪o you want to come here and be a part of our unit?鈥�

There was no question about it. 鈥淵es, sir,鈥� Scally said.

鈥淥K,鈥� said the captain. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e in.鈥澨� 听

Thus began the O鈥橠onnell family鈥檚 CU Boulder story鈥攚ith a touch of nerve and a dash of good luck.

Homecoming

John O鈥橠onnell (Econ 鈥�86), Scally鈥檚 son, also born and raised in Denver, began his chapter of the story at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, despite having grown up going to CU football games at Folsom Field with his father.

It didn鈥檛 take long for him to realize he鈥檇 made the wrong decision. Puget Sound 鈥渨as just too small,鈥� John says, 鈥渁nd I didn鈥檛 like the weather. It really wasn鈥檛 satisfying the college experience for me.鈥�

Things changed when he transferred to Boulder. 鈥淚mmediately, I knew it was the right fit,鈥� he says. He enjoyed the wide range of course options, the access to ski slopes, the athletics (he competed in club lacrosse), the people, one of whom, Mary Jo Lane (Commercial Recreation 鈥�86), he would later marry. 听听 听 听 听听

And he enjoyed the football games. One in particular still burns bright听in his memory: CU vs. Oklahoma, Nov. 15, 1986. Because a Buffs victory would ensure the team a spot in the Orange Bowl, John remembers, many students attended the cold game at Folsom with oranges in hand.

But alas, the talismans failed, and the Sooners won 28-0. 鈥淭hey crushed us,鈥� says John. 鈥淐rushed our dreams.鈥�

When Oklahoma鈥檚 Brian 鈥淭he Boz鈥� Bosworth, who would go on to play two seasons in the NFL, came over to the crowd to gloat, John says, the Buffs鈥� fans weren鈥檛 having it. 鈥淔ifteen thousand frozen oranges came flying down鈥� upon the linebacker from the stands.

The Boz emerged from the citrus blitz unscathed, John admits with a hint (just a hint) of bitter disappointment, but that didn鈥檛 diminish John鈥檚 CU spirit. He and Mary Jo, an independent college counselor who may or may not give her clients the occasional nudge toward Boulder, continue to support the Buffs. They belong to an alumni group in Bozeman, Montana, where they moved to raise their three kids after living in Seattle for 12 years, and never miss homecoming.

Study Abroad

For Scally, John and Mary Jo, CU has been a constant companion, wherever they go鈥攕o constant, in fact, that it is sometimes difficult to determine if CU follows them or they follow CU.

After graduating in 1952, Scally spent a total of 35 months aboard the U.S.S. Seminole serving the U.S. Navy. By this time, he had decided to do away with his nickname, figuring he鈥檇 outgrown it. Fate, however, had other plans.

While at an officer鈥檚 club in Japan during the Korean War, Scally ran into a fellow Buff. 鈥淗ey, Scally!鈥� his old classmate said.

One of Scally鈥檚 shipmates heard this and asked, 鈥淲hat did he call you?鈥�

Scally attempted to divert attention away from the moniker, but to no avail. 鈥淔our days later,鈥� Scally reminisces, chuckling, 鈥渨hy, everybody (on the ship) was calling me Scally. It stuck.鈥�

John and Mary Jo recently returned from the Semester at Sea Lifelong Learning Program. Over the course of four months, they visited more than a dozen countries鈥攕tarting in Italy and voyaging throughout the Mediterranean and Europe鈥攁nd sat in on numerous lectures by university professors.

Among the many things they learned on the trip was how far-reaching the CU network can be. According to John, there were more alumni and students from CU on the journey than there were from any other school, a perk that transformed the ship of strangers into a place of familiarity. 鈥淲e were quick to bond with one another,鈥� John says. 鈥淚t was kind of cool.鈥� 听

Graduation

A similar sense of familiarity has characterized the CU experience for John and Mary Jo鈥檚 youngest child, Elizabeth 鈥淟ibby鈥� O鈥橠onnell, who is graduating this May with a degree in integrative physiology.

While she was growing up in Bozeman, Libby says, her parents would often tell her how grateful they were for their education, and her grandfather would regale her with colorful accounts of his NROTC days. On top of that, when it came time for her to select a school to attend, Libby had already spent many years touring the campus, attending football games and skiing the nearby slopes. (Libby, John and Scally each have a history of ski racing).

Boulder was for Libby a home away from home, not a 鈥渢here鈥� but a 鈥渉ere.鈥� She was never pressured into attending CU, she says. There was never any need to pressure her. The place just felt right.

Libby says that attending her parents鈥� and grandfather鈥檚 alma mater brought her closer to them, providing them all with shared experiences. Some of these experiences, she says, could be downright spooky, like when she ended up living in the same residence hall (Farrand) and joining the same sorority (Delta Gamma) as her mother, a coincidence she calls 鈥渟uper weird,鈥� but not in a bad way. 鈥淚t feels very special to share that bond with my mom.鈥�

Libby, who worked as a nurse aide at Boulder Community Hospital and hopes to become a physician鈥檚 associate, notes that her parents and grandparents, her 鈥渞ole models,鈥� have been 鈥渉uge support systems鈥� while she鈥檚 been at CU.

John has been especially impressed with his daughter鈥檚 dedication to her studies. 鈥淔or her to embrace (integrative physiology) and to take all these difficult classes in biology, physics, chemistry, epidemiology, endocrinology鈥� and earn 鈥済reat grades鈥� is 鈥減retty interesting,鈥� he says, adding, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I was quite that good.鈥�

Scally agrees that his granddaughter has studied hard, but he also points out that she has managed to 鈥渁chieve a balance between work and play,鈥� a balance he believes is crucial to a good life. Why? Family. 鈥淵ou got to work hard,鈥� he says, but you also have to make time for loved ones.

On May 5, all three O鈥橠onnell generations will once again return to Folsom Field, 70 years after Scally鈥檚 graduation. And when Libby dons the cap and gown and strolls across the stage to receive her degree, her parents鈥� and grandparents鈥� shouts of praise will surely rain down upon her from the stands, like flying frozen oranges.