O'Connor, Donald

Lived in Oak Creek

Donald O'Connor, 1953.

(David Dixon O'Connor, 1925.08.28-2003.09.27)  Actor, dancer.

Donald O'Connor is a veteran of 61 feature films, but needed to do nothing more than his singing and dancing "Make 'Em Laugh" sequence in Singing in the Rain to have a place in the annals of film history.

O'Connor, Sandra Day

Lived in Phoenix

(1930.03.26-    )  U. S. Supreme Court Justice, judge, lawyer, author.

Sandra Day O'Connor was the first woman to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court, and the only woman to have a Federal Court building to carry her name. 

Owens, Jesse

Lived in Paradise Valley

Died at University Hospital, Tucson

Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics.

(James Cleveland Owens, 1913.09.12-1980.03.31)  Olympic Gold Medal Winner, speaker, businessman.

Jesse Owens presented a serious challenge to Adolph Hitler's master race theory when he, a black American runner, beat all Aryan contenders to take four Gold Medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  As Hitler watched from the stands, Jesse tied the world record in the 100 meter dash (10.3 seconds), set Olympic records in the 200 meter dash (20.7 seconds) and the long jump (8.06 meters).  In the first leg of the 400-meter relay, he set an Olympic and world record (39.8 seconds).  Rather than congratulate the black American athlete at the award ceremony, Hitler left the stadium.