Dennis O’Connell was born in London, England on April 8th, 1922. He joined the Royal Air Forcein 1941 and was trained as a pilot prior to coming to Lethbridge where he served in #8 Bombing and Gunnery School as a bomber instructor. Dennis met his wife Barbara at the school and they were married in May 1943. He then returned to England and served with #239 Night Intruder Squadron RAF. Post war he returned to Lethbridge in 1946. Two years later he became manager of the Lethbridge Chamber of Commerce, a position he held until 1969 when he was appointed Director of Economic Development for the City of Lethbridge. He retired in 1988. Dennis was a driving force behind the establishment of the University of Lethbridge and later became Chairman of the University’s Board of Governors for 11 years. In 2005 he was granted an honorary doctorate (LL.D) in recognition of his service as Chairman. He was also active in many other civic and national organizations at the Board and President levels. Dennis and his wife had three children: Sean, Deirdre, and Paddy. Dennis passed away in September 2010.