- Frank Patrick O'Connor
Frank Patrick O'Connor (
April 9 ,1885 –August 21 ,1939 ) was a Canadian politician, businessman, philanthropist. He was the founder ofLaura Secord Chocolates andFanny Farmer .Born in Deseronto,
Ontario , the son of Mary Eleanor McKeown and Patrick O'Connor, O'Connor quit school at the age of 14 and started working at CanadianGeneral Electric in Peterborough. He married Mary Ellen Hayes and moved with her to Toronto in 1912. In 1913, he opened the Laura Secord Candy Store onYonge Street . He expanded the store across Canada and into the United States where it was known as Fanny Farmer Candy Stores.cite web|title=Francis Patrick O’Connor - A Legacy of Generosity|work=Heritage Toronto|url=http://www.heritagetoronto.org/discover-toronto/community-stories/francis-patrick-o-connor-legacy-generosity]A Roman Catholic, he gave $500,000 in the 1930s to the
Archdiocese of Toronto under the trusteeship of CardinalJames Charles McGuigan .In 1935, he was appointed to the
Senate of Canada by Liberal Prime MinisterWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King . He represented thesenatorial division of Scarborough Junction, Ontario until his death in 1939. [cite web|title=Parliament of Canada biography|url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=1e0ca0a3-54b2-4d73-aee9-e4b27047048e&Language=E]Senator O'Connor College School , aToronto Catholic District School Board high school, was named in his honour.References
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