Eugene P. ONeill, 84, died September 13, 2008, at Hospice House in Vero Beach. He was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he successfully built E. T. ONeill and Son, a contracting firm that built major bridges and roads throughout New England.
An Army veteran of World War II, he served in the Pacific Theatre. He was a graduate of Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts and later a trustee of that institution. He was Grand Marshall of the Holyoke St. Patricks Day parade in 1963 and an accomplished private pilot. His flying literally landed him in Vero Beach in the late 1960's.
As a resident of Vero Beach he was active in the community being a President of the St. Vincent DePaul Society, a parishioner of St. Helen Catholic Church where he served on its school advisory board, and a member of the Knights of Columbus, where he was a 4th Degree Knight. He also founded ONeill Equipment in Vero Beach and was the developer of Spring Place Subdivision in Indian River County.
Survivors include his beloved wife of 59 years, Mary Vachon ONeill, as well as his children, Eugene of Vero Beach, Thomas (Susan) of Arizona, Anne Schulte (Robert) of Massachusetts, Mary Barnes (David) Virginia, Eileen (Karen) of Maryland, and Kevin (Christine) of Ft. Lauderdale, 13 grandchildren and one great grandchild. He was predeceased by his two sisters Helen B. ONeill and Ann K. Boyd.
The family will receive friends 5-8 PM, Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at the Cox-Gifford-Seawinds Funeral Home in Vero Beach with a prayer service at 7 PM. A Mass will be celebrated at 10 AM, Wednesday, September 17, 2008 at St. Helen Catholic Church in Vero Beach. A mass will be celebrated at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Holyoke at 10 AM, Saturday, November 15, 2008. Interment will follow at St. Jerome Cemetery in Holyoke at a later date.
Memorial contributions can be made to the Edmunite Missions, 1428 Broad Street, Selma, Alabama 36701 or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tennessee 38105.