70-Year-Old Teacher With No Wife And Kids Seems Strict In School, Students Find Out He Volunteers At Children's Hospital After Class

Dec 30, 2020 by apost team

Back in 2013, students of Jim O’Connor, a math teacher at St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, discovered that Jim was more than just their no-nonsense educator — he actually has the biggest heart.

He does not mess around in the classroom

Jim O’Connor, a Vietnam veteran whose nature is straight uptight, currently works as a mathematics teacher. He is known to keep short hair and retains the military hairstyle. He is always alert like an eagle watching his students.

According to TODAY, Jim has built a respected character in St. Francis High School in La Cañada Flintridge, California, where he teaches algebra and calculus. Owing to his many years in military service, Jim maintains his commanding voice that no student would dare defy. He rarely condones teenagers’ edginess and any noise in his classroom.

According to CBS News, Jim says that he is not here to entertain his students. “It drives me crazy when people say school should be fun,” Jim told the station in an interview back in 2014. “I mean, it is nice if it could be but you cannot make school fun.”

You could even see the hesitation in the students when they are asked if the word ‘love’ comes to mind when they think of their teacher. One of them, avoiding the question, said; “He is going to be seeing this, right?”

Even the rowdiest of teenage boys take off their hats in Jim’s presence. And for years, the kids thought that was all there is to it. It was when they learned of Jim’s other side that they were baffled beyond expectations.

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Students had no idea this was what their teacher did after school hours

In November 2013, a then-senior of the school Patrick McGoldrick discovered that he and his schoolmates did not know half of it. Patrick was in charge of a student blood drive and had just gone to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for a meeting. He says the experience was weird. Whenever he told someone at the hospital that he went to St. Francis High School, they all said ‘oh, you must know Jim O’Connor. Isn’t he wonderful?’

Inside the blood donor center, Patrick found a plaque that listed all the top blood donors at the hospital including the record holder, ‘Jim O’Connor’.

Apparently, the mathematics teacher started his volunteer work at the hospital ages back when a pal convinced him to contribute towards making certain blood drives successful.

With O negative blood type, Jim is a universal donor. He began frequenting the hospital to donate blood and platelets. Since his first contact with the hospital, he has managed to give out 72 gallons of blood and is one of the facility’s top blood donors.

“It was disbelief, really,” Patrick said to CBS News. “It was almost like finding this alter ego that he has.” Then, Patrick learned something even more unbelievable.

He volunteers as a baby cuddler

After a few times visiting the facility, Jim saw sick babies struggling to recover from various illnesses. To his surprise, he found out just how much of a huge cuddler he was. With no kids, Jim hadn't given a thought to cuddle therapy for babies, but after that first time, he regularly returned to offer those children what comfort he could.

Nurse Erin Schmidt explains that Jim steps in when parents of the babies are unable to. He would hold them, feed them, and just give them comfort. Schmidt added that he is “Invaluable.”

“They tend to calm for him, they tend to relax with him, they fall asleep with him,” she said.

Three days a week for the past 20 years, Jim has spent his time volunteering at the hospital. Jim confesses to loving the kids and taking care of them. The medics at the hospital are fond of him, mostly because he is a kids’ magnet.

“I just like them and relate to them somehow,” Jim said. Even though he had never been married and has no kids of his own, he has fallen hard for these babies.

“I do not want to see them alone. I cannot do that.”

He agreed with the reporter when he said Jim is not the tough guy his students make him out to be at all. “But don’t tell my students,” he joked.

Not everything is always what it seems

Jim’s story is proof that you should never judge a book by its cover. “I have always respected him,” Patrick said of his teacher.

“But now it’s [to] an even different degree. It really is … to the point where I try to emulate him. He is the epitome of a man of service.”

Patrick is not the only student who has shown their appreciation to their teacher.

One John Kazanjian, who is a former student of Jim, took to the comments section on YouTube to write: “That man is the reason I was able to attend Purdue University. Calculus was never a challenge for me when I first started at Purdue and it never will be. Thank you Mr. O'Connor.”

This news piece was aptly broadcasted on CBS Evening News on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2014. Jim has inspired and touched many viewers, as evident by the near 3.1 million views that it currently has, and the feedback in the comments.

Many others expressed how moved they are by Jim’s story: “When you know loneliness. You don't want that for others,” read the top comment.

“He is very very paternal and compassionate. Explains why his job and volunteering involves children. It's his way of being the parent he couldn't,” one viewer wrote. “Society needs people like him. Very admirable. A traditional man. Strong, disciplined but kind and compassionate.”

The video shows how Jim shows all his love and care to the ill babies. The medical staff, in turn, adore him and hold him in the highest regard due to the sacrifices he makes for the kids. Watch how he has earned his respect and nickname from his students.

Does Jim’s story touch your heart? Do you know anyone who lives a "double life" just like Mr. O'Connor? Let us know in the comments and feel free to pass this along to your friends and family.