Margaret "Mika" Tirs

Margaret (aka Mika) Tirs died at the Kroontje Health Care center in Blacksburg, VA on December 4, 2025.

Mika was born on July 26, 1946 in Germany to George and Emilia Tirs while the family lived in a WWII resettlement camp. As a child she accompanied the family as they relocated first to Newark, NJ; then to Pacific Grove, CA, where she had fond memories of being a Butterfly Girl in the Butterfly Parade; and, finally to, Richmond, VA where her father and mother taught the Russian language in the Richmond school system. Mika graduated from George Wythe High School in 1964 and received a BA degree in history from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Professionally, Mika was a supervisor for Aetna Insurance and, later, a top fund raiser for Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, DC.

Mika pursued a goal of reuniting an extended family that had scattered after WWII. To this end she taught English in Estonia, for two years, reuniting with family there and in Latvia. Travel to Australia solidified relationships with relatives who immigrated there. Later, with her husband, James G. O'Neill III (Jim), whom she married in 2005, she traded host duties with family in frequent visits to/from the U.S., Estonia, Latvia, Australia, and Scotland. Mika was known in the Richmond Russian community for hosting lavish parties with endless zakuski, caviar, all day eating, multilingual conversation and merriment.

Mika's fluency in Russian allowed her and Jim to go native as they crossed off some "bucket list" items; such as entering Red Square right after the Victory Day celebration in 2012 and taking a Trans-Siberian Railroad trip to Lake Baikal.

Mika is survived by her husband and adult stepchildren; Katherine O'Neill (Ron Nolen) of Blacksburg, VA; and James G. O'Neill IV (Ai Le) of Sydney, Australia. Mika was the beloved Babushka of Samuel O'Neill Nolen and Stephanie Le O'Neill; the devoted aunt of Alexandra Whitehurst, Jaqueline Fisher, Arthur Fisher, and Rebecca Tirs; and a great aunt or cousin for an extended large family across several countries. Mika was preceded in death by her parents; her sisters, Veronica and Helen; and her brother, George.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to Defenders of Wildlife. The family also wishes to thank the nurses of the Kroontje Health Care Center and of the Medi Home Health and Hospice for the loving care they provided to Mika/Margaret in her final days and for a million kindnesses. Friends and family will celebrate Mika's life in a "Celebration of Life" gathering in Richmond next year when the weather warms and all are a little less sad.