A 99-year-old woman’s resilient outlook on life
99-year-old Florence O’Connell is a true representation of resilience and a love for humanity, which she attributes to her hometown. “I just love Brantford,” O’Connell says with a smile, “It’s always been good to me.”
Living in Brantford since 1925, she’s experienced the city’s development and history and is always eager to share her stories with those around her — including over 25 of her grandkids and great-grandkids.
As a child, O’Connell lived through the Great Depression. “Money was scarce, and my family was poor” she recounts. “So, when I needed a new pair of shoes, I couldn’t afford them. I had to put cardboard at the bottom of the shoe [for support].”
Although this is only a glimpse into the financial struggles average civilians faced, when asked about her upbringing, O’Connell characterizes her childhood as relatively happy while still acknowledging the stress her family was under.
Yet as time goes on, situations change, and people grow. In her teen years, she fell in love with a boy named Leonard O’Connell after meeting and biking together on a blind date. “I’d say those were the happiest years,” she says. “We would go to Mohawk Park on Sunday’s and to the [movies]. My favourite one we saw was Tarzan!”
As their young love was blossoming, tragedy struck and Leonard enlisted into Canada’s navy during World War II, wishing to support his three brothers in the battle. “I wanted to go with him,” Florence says. “But he said it wasn’t safe. So, I stayed, and I worked.”


Side by side of a younger and present day Florence O’Connell
According to the Canadian War Museum, 373,000 women were working in the manufacturing field from 1943 to1944, with 261,000 of said number “working directly in the munitions industries”. O’Connell was one of those women, working in Brantford to make tank parts at Massey-Harris (aka Massey-Ferguson). Although she worked eight hour shifts each day until midnight, she remembers her coworkers being “cheerful at their work and happy”. Although she loved working with other women like her, she didn’t have the same to say about her male coworkers. She remembers a man at Massey’s that enjoyed “pinching women on their rear-ends”.
“One day I had enough, and I had a steal pipe in my hands, so I hit him right here” she laughs while pointing to her temple. “In that moment, I didn’t care where I hit him. Everyone said I could’ve killed him and I thought, ‘too bad!’”
Once Leonard came home, the two got married and he spent all his free time building a house for them to live in. They had four children together and many grandchildren.
Florence still lives in the house her husband built her and often looks around to admire the work of her late husband. What was once a bedroom is now her favourite spot to sit and paint. “He said he wanted me and our family to have a home even after he’s gone, and so he made it himself,” said O’Connell
After sharing so many incredible stories from her life, O’Connell has advice to share about the meaning of life. “I think the meaning of life is to be kind to those around you and live in good health,” she says. “You put love into things, you get love back”.
This article was originally published in print Volume 24, Issue 4 on Thursday, December 5.