Paul X. O'Neill

Died September, 25th, 2007 at age 78, following a brave fight with pneumonia. His Naval career included distinguished active service in three wars and took him from enlisted sailor to commandant of the Sea Bee Base at Quonsett Point and Trustee of the United States Naval Institute. Commodore O'Neill was born in the house which he grew up in Boston, Massachusetts on Gayland Street in Roxbury on November 9, 1928 to Eugene and Mary ONeill. His Naval career began with his enlistment in 1945 just as he finished B.C. High. Seaman Paul O'Neill first served as a signalman at the Naval Airbase at Squantum, Quincy, Massachusetts, where he quickly got the nickname PX. PX O'Neill was selected from the fleet to attend the U.S. Naval Academy while serving at Squantum. He produced and directed many musicals with an all-midshipman cast and many times performed with his trumpet and piano. He always reminded everyone that he had also been accepted to Julliard. Later in life, PX O'Neill would return to the Academy, as Trustee of the U.S. Naval Institute and be instrumental in the development of the USNI Library at Annapolis. He was also responsible for entertaining many a midshipmen during Fleet Week in Fort Lauderdale. It was merely one of the many things he would do for the Navy which brought him such joy. He couldn't pass a young serviceman in uniform on the street without shaking his or her hand. During PX O'Neill's professional career, he founded P.X. Engineering Company, Inc., a company which manufactured equipment for power generation, petroleum processing and nuclear sciences. PX O'Neill started P.X. Engineering in 1964 in a garage-like warehouse in Everett, Massachusetts and grew it into a multi-national corporation with facilities in Woburn and Boston, Massachusetts and Belfast, Ireland. Many of the products which PX made were remarkable, even by todays standards, including the Tokamak reactor at Princeton, University, Fluidized-Catalytic Cracking Reactor at Amaerada Hess, Port Reading, New Jersey, and the Biological Shield at the Hope Creek Reactor, Hope Creek, New Jersey. He was married for nearly 50 years, to Phyllis (Lorina) O'Neill, originally of Boston, Massachusetts who predeceased him in 2003. They raised their three children in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. After his professional career, they both retired to Marco Island and then Boca Raton, FL, making many trips to Lynnfield, MA to visit family and grandchildren. He also traveled often to the Naval Academy and Maryland for USNI proceedings. He was a past member of the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton and an active member of the Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale. He is survived by his daughter Lorena Watt and her husband Charles of Wellington, FL, his son Paul X. O'Neill, Jr. and his wife Branka, of Weston, MA, and Peter X. O'Neill, Sr. and his wife Caroline of North Andover, MA. He is also survived by his sister, Althea Nannicelli, of Medford, MA, sister, Rita Reid, of Croton-on-Hudson, NY. PX O'Neill, or Papa is also deeply mourned by grandson John T. Williams, Jr. of Bariloche, Argentina, granddaughter Lorena Williams of Boston, MA, granddaughter Jennifer Williams, of Manhattan, NY, granddaughter, Ashley O'Neill of North Andover, MA, and Boca Raton, FL, grandson, Peter X. O'Neill, Jr. of North Andover, MA, granddaughter, Katherine R. O'Neill, granddaughter, Brigette O'Neill of Hinckley, Ohio and his wonderful and loving companion and angel, Eva Lyons of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. The family will receive guests at the funeral home on Monday, October 1, 2007 from 2-4PM and 6-8PM. Mass of Christian Burial is scheduled for 10:00AM, Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Fort Lauderdale. Interment with Naval Honors will take place on Thursday, October 4th at Forest Hill Cemetery in Lynnfield, MA. Arrangements were made by: Kraeer-Fairchild Funeral Home and Cremation Center 4061 N. Federal Hwy. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308 Phone: 954-565-5591