Kathleen O'Neill

Kathleen O'Neill
Kathleen O'Neill was a native San Franciscan, born to Irish parents who immigrated from County Sligo and County Galway. Her father owned a successful diner and later bar and concession stand on Castro Street, where Kathleen grew up, playing kick the can and hide & seek with her 4 siblings and dozens of neighborhood kids. Most especially, she loved going to the movies at the Castro Street Theater every Sunday when the film industry was in it's heyday. She performed on the stage at the historic theater with her tap dance class when she was 7.
At the age of 12, she briefly stayed at a relative's house in the country, to help a cousin who had a newborn. With not much to do and no one to play with, she found an old, rusty bike lying unused on the farm and taught herself to ride it, getting back up each time she hit the dirt. This determination and tenacity, such as an essential part of her character, would serve her well throughout her life.
At the age of 13, she aimed to earn a high school scholarship, attending special classes before school every day for a year, instructed by the nuns at Most Holy Redeemer, in order to compete. She won that scholarship, the only one in her class to do so, and earned the full-ride 4-year scholarship to St. Paul's Catholic High School, a significant contribution to her family, as she was one of five children attending Catholic school during the Depression.
The War years would further draw on this discipline and ability to persevere through hardship while retaining her sense of humor and feisty drive for joy. As a young adult, she loved attending the outdoor dances by The Bay and by the Russian River. A devout Catholic, she worked for years at the Archdiocese of San Francisco, before working in the insurance industry, where she met her husband, John T. O'Neill.
Kathleen was a secretary and John worked in the mailroom before he became an executive vice-president at the company, and she a homemaker. They had six children, two of whom died as infants. Kathleen grieved those two losses, and picked herself up, just like she did as a 12-year-old, learning how to ride that bike. Together, Kathleen and John created a loving home, raising and college educating four children and enjoying a 37-year marriage, in which every holiday and rite of passage was celebrated generously with extended family and friends.
Funeral Mass will be celebrated August 20, 2025 10:00 am at Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church, San Francisco, CA.