Dr William Foster "Bill" O'Meara

9/1/1929 - 10/18/2021

Old Lyme - Dr. William Foster "Bill" O'Meara, DMD, M.S., 92, of Old Lyme, formerly of West Hartford, passed away quietly Oct. 18, 2021, with his family by his side. Bill was born Sept. 1, 1929, in Hartford, to the late Dr. William Francis O'Meara, DMD and Marguerite (Foster) O'Meara.

He graduated from Kingswood School, College of Holy Cross and Tufts University, School of Dental Medicine. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps from 1955 to 1957, and in the Reserve Army Corps until 1963. He practiced dentistry with his father until leaving Connecticut, to matriculate at the University of Iowa, College of Dentistry to specialize in pediatric dentistry. After completing his residency, he received his MS degree and remained at the Iowa Dental and Medical Schools as assistant professor of pediatric dentistry for seven years. He held membership in Omicron Kappa Upsilon and the Society of the Sigma Xi, national dental and scientific honor societies.

In 1967 he returned to Connecticut, and opened his dental practice specializing in pediatrics. After several years of solo practice, he, along with Drs. Robert Hall, Eugene Krygowski and Walter Schiller, founded Dental Associates, a multi-specialty group dental practice in Farmington.

His professional appointments included Newington Children's Hospital, attending staff, and UCONN School of Dental Medicine, clinical instructor in pediatric dentistry. He was a member of the American Dental Association, Connecticut State Dental Association, Connecticut Society of Pediatric Dentists and the Horace Wells Club of Connecticut. He received an award from the American Dental Association for his work on development of state dentistry infection control standards which became a model for a national standard of care. After retiring from Dental Associates in 1995, he joined the staff of the Hill Health Center providing services in the Greater New Haven area. He was especially proud of helping to establish the dental clinic at the Katherine Brennan School in New Haven.

He was a lifelong volunteer, both personally and professionally. During his years of private practice, he dedicated one day a week to volunteer at Community Health Services in Hartford, as a pediatric dentist. He was a long-serving scoutmaster in West Hartford, an active member of the Men's Club of Christ the King Parish and proudly joined the Mystic Seaport Pilot Program's historic restoration of the Amistad. He served as secretary of the O'Meara Family Scholarship Foundation. He joined the Duck River Garden Club of Old Lyme, and enjoyed growing and caring for hybrid tea roses-especially his favorite yellow roses. He was an avid long distance runner. He loved supporting the Boston Red Sox, Holy Cross Crusaders and University of Iowa Hawkeyes. He spent many happy days at Doc's Landing, the family vacation home on Cape Cod, kite flying, burning brush and visiting with his grandchildren. In recent years, he has volunteered at The Holy Family Retreat Center Development Office in Farmington, along with his wife Jan. He dedicated countless hours to ensure the success of their annual Kristofak Golf Tournament.

He is survived by his wife of nine years, Janice Smegelski-O'Meara. He was predeceased by his wife Deborah Blair Lambert O'Meara, with whom he shared over 48 years of marriage. Their children are: David (Elizabeth) of Marlborough, Richard (Stella) of Vienna, Va., Mary Ellen of Vienna, Va., Barbara Lefkovich (Marc) of Southington, Steven (Karin) of West Hartford, Jane (Wade) Miller of Arlington, Va., Katherine (William) McKersie of Greenwich, and Timothy (Jessica) of Oceanside, N.Y. He is also survived by his step-children, Brenda (Art) Drake of Plymouth, Tracie (Tom) Ortoleva of Old Lyme, and Thomas A. Smegelski Jr. of Naugatuck. His 17 grandchildren include: Hope Serebotseng, Kailee O'Meara, Charlotte, William, Ellie and Cody Lefkovich, Caitlin, Brendan, Sean and Erin O'Meara, Alison, Karl, John, Grace and Blair Miller and Riona and Arabella McKersie; plus five step-grandchildren: Liam and Max McKersie, Allison Drake and Sophia and Ryan Ortoleva; and his great-grandchildren, Taylor and Ezra Serebotseng. He is also survived by his brother B. Maxwell O'Meara (Dottie) of Simsbury; sister Margot Egan; and sister-in-law Gloria O'Meara of West Hartford. He was predeceased by his brother John F. O'Meara; and brother-in-law Paul F. Egan. His many cousins, nieces and nephews and numerous friends will miss him dearly.

The family would like to thank the Care At Home caregivers for their loving attention to Dad/Doc these past few months, especially Maureen, Yolande and Tammy. The family is also deeply grateful to the Beacon Hospice nurses and aides, especially Cathy, Jackie and Chelsea.

Calling hours will take place from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 5, at Neilan and Sons Funeral Home, 48 Grand Street, in Niantic, followed by a funeral Mass at noon. at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme. Burial will take place at a later date at Duck River Cemetery in Old Lyme, at the convenience of the family. Memorial donations can be made to: Holy Family Monastery and Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Road, West Hartford, CT 06107, www.holyfamilyretreat.org; Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme, CT 06371, www.christthekingchurch.net; and/or the O'Meara Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 290157, Wethersfield, CT 06129, www.theomearafoundation.com.