James O'Neil

James T. O'Neil, loving husband, father of 10 children, teacher, coach, textbook salesman, Marine and devout Catholic, died Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014, at St. Anthony's Medical Center. He was 86. After he retired, Mr. O'Neil worked part-time at Grant's Farm for 10 years and was active in the Marine Corps League South Side Detachment, where he served as chaplain. He was born Feb. 21, 1928, in Little Rock, Ark., the oldest of three children of Thomas and Helen O'Neil. His father's work as a civil engineer for the Missouri Pacific Railroad brought the family to St. Louis when he was a child. He grew up in South St. Louis and lived there until he and his wife, Audrey Bruemmer O'Neil, moved to South County 21 years ago. Mr. O'Neil graduated from South Side Catholic High School (now St. Mary's) in 1945 and entered the Marine Corps. He served in the Pacific Theater before his discharge in 1947. He graduated from St. Louis University and, on May 26, 1951, married Audrey Bruemmer of south St. Louis. From 1951 to 1955, he taught Spanish at St. Louis University High School, where he coached track, cross-country and basketball. He also taught at The Priory and Normandy Jr. High School, and night school at St. Louis U. He was a high-school football and basketball referee and track-meet official, and earned a master's degree in Spanish from SLU. In 1964, he joined Holt, Rinehart & Winston as a foreign language consultant. He later was a sales representative for textbook and education companies, including American College Testronics (ACT). He retired in 1995. He was a longtime member of the Manresa Society and a daily communicant. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Tim (Chris) O'Neil of St. Louis; Mary (Jerry) Simon of Webster Groves; Patricia (Kevin) Green of south county; Maureen (Dan) Abbott of south county; John (Jackie) O'Neil of Louisville; Kelly (Charlie) Stoltze of south county; Peggy (Bill) Paasch of south county; Mike (Christie) O'Neil of St. Louis; Katy (Mike) Snee of Minneapolis; and Erin (Jim) McElroy of Denver; 39 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; and two sisters, Sharon (Frank) Heiser of Riverside, Calif. and Peggy (Dr. Dan) Waligora of Pebble Beach, Calif.; and brother-in-law to Gloria Bruemmer Taylor of Hattiesburg, Miss. and Jack and Mary Alice Bruemmer of Shrewsbury. Services: Visitation will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at JOHN L. ZIEGENHEIN & SONS South County, 4830 Lemay Ferry Road. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Thursday at Assumption Catholic Church, 4725 Mattis Road. He will be buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. His family thanks the staff at St. Anthony's, especially Dr. Dale Furukawa and Sarah Grotha RN of the cardiac ICU unit. November 19, 2014
4:00 pm - 8:00 pm
John L. Ziegenhein & Sons South County
4830 Lemay Ferry Rd. St. Louis, MO 63129
November 20, 2014
10:00 am -
Assumption Catholic Church
4725 Mattis Road, St. Louis, MO 63128