Lawrence James O'NEIL

O’NEIL, Lawrence James (Larry), 82, of Tampa, FL, passed away at home on July 6, 2014 after a long battle with cancer. His loving wife of 53 years, Jeanne Athel Young O’Neil, was by his side. Lawrence “Larry” O’Neil was the son of Bernard (Bert) and Ragnhild (Roni) O’Neil, both deceased. He was preceded in death by his son Clark O’Neil. He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Athel Young O’Neil, son Kevin O’Neil, daughters Kitty O’Neil and Jennifer O’Neil, daughter-in-law Renée Lukasik O’Neil, sons-in-law Joseph Knight and Rand Hill, and grandchildren Jeanne Marie O’Neil and Luke James O’Neil. He is also survived by his aunt Rosemarie Boe Hudson of Lacey, WA, sister Kathleen “Kay” O’Neil of La Mesa, CA, brother Bert O’Neil and sister-in-law Jane Hermann O’Neil of San Diego, CA, and brother Kenneth O’Neil and Sara Allen O’Neil of Portland, OR, along with dozens of cousins, nieces, and nephews, and numerous lifelong friends.

Larry O’Neil was born October 4, 1931, in Longview, Washington, and moved to Bremerton before his first birthday, where he lived until the age of 14. His family moved to Pendleton, Oregon in 1946, and he graduated from Pendleton Oregon High School in 1949. After four years in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, Larry attended the University of Southern California where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He studied law at the University of Southern California and University of Florida School of Law, where he was the Executive Editor of the University of Florida Law Review and earned his law degree in 1963. Later that year, Larry O’Neil joined the law firm of MacFarlane Ferguson in Tampa. In 1995, he retired from the same firm as Managing Partner.

During his thirty-two years as an attorney, he served on the boards of directors of many nonprofit organizations, including the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, Tampa’s Museum of Science and Industry, the Bay Area Legal Services Corporation, and the Oral School for the Deaf.

Larry met his wife Jeanne Athel Young in Los Angeles, and in 1960, they celebrated their wedding at the Beverly Hills Hotel. They relocated to the Tampa Bay area in 1961 to be close to her parents, Chic Young and Athel Lindorf Young. They made Temple Terrace their home in 1971. Larry was an avid golfer and voracious reader. His family was close, and he enjoyed cruising with them every year and driving across the country to see his daughters in San Francisco and family in San Diego, Washington, and Oregon more than a dozen times.

His family will celebrate his life at a private service near his home in Temple Terrace, FL. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to LifePath Hospice 11150 N. 53rd Street, Temple Terrace, FL 33617.