Married couple, substitute teacher named as victims in violent Brunswick County tornado

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — We are learning more about the victims who died during the EF-3 tornado that hit Brunswick County late Monday night.

Neighbors and family members are remembering Phyllis and Rich O’Connor who lived in the Ocean Ridge Plantation in Ocean Isle Beach. The married couple was killed in the tornado.

Phyllis’ niece says they will never be forgotten. 

“She was the one who would help plan and you know, print bulletins,” Beth Kelsey said. “And she would be the one to just help everyone else out through some of these things. And now its somebody else’s turn to step up and help out.”

Kelsey says her aunt married Rich several years ago, falling in love late in life.

“He was a great dad,” Kelsey said. “One of their sons had some issues along the way. He never gave up. Yeah, he’s a really really good man. A great friend.”

Early Tuesday morning, Kelsey got a call from Brunswick County. A tornado had ripped through Rich and Phyllis’ house. Richard had been taken to the hospital, but they couldn’t find Phyllis. Waiting up all through the night, the next morning she finally received another call, but not with the new she wanted.

“The next morning they found a body in the middle of the golf course,” Kelsey said. “And it was in such rough shape that they couldn’t identify her. And my aunt Jill said, ‘hey can I send you a picture.’ And they said that wouldn’t even help because she was unidentifiable. And so, sorry, and so they said is there anything you can identify her with. And she said well I was there earlier in the evening and she had on an opal ring. She always wears it. And that’s the only way the coroner could identify it.”

Kelsey got more bad news. Rich didn’t make it. He died in the hospital from his injuries.

“Knowing that my uncle was screaming for help, and that he actually was alive at one point,” Kelsey said. “That’s the stuff that you know you don’t want to hear. You want to hear that they never woke up, and that they got clunked on the head like the Wizard of Oz. You know what I mean? You want to think that it’s easy, and they never woke up, and it’s fine.”

The third tornado victim, Barry Glick, was a retired engineer. Glick served as a substitute teacher for Brunswick County Schools for almost 14 years. During that time, he served at least nine schools and made lots of memories with our students and staff.

Barry Glick (Photo: BCS)