ElizabethBettyHesburgh ONeill, sister of Notre Dames president emeritus, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., died Feb. 25 inWinchester,Mass.She was 86.
The third of five children of Theodore and Anne Marie (Murphy) Hesburgh, Elizabeth was bornSept. 25, 1920, inSyracuse,N.Y.A graduate of the College of New Rochelle, she joined the Navy during World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant JG following officer training school at Smith College.She married Robert Dennin ONeill of Syracuse in 1946.They had six children and lived most of their lives in Cazenovia, N.Y. Robert ONeill died in 1989.
After working for many years as a grade school teacher, Elizabeth ONeill earned masters degrees in guidance counseling, education and psychology fromSyracuseUniversityand worked for 20 years as a counselor atNorwichSenior High SchoolinNorwich,N.Y.
In addition to her brother, Father Hesburgh, she is survived by her brother James, three sons, two daughters, and 11 grandchildren.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. James Catholic Church in Cazenovia on March 2, and the family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in ONeills name to St. James Church or to the University of Notre Dame.
TopicID: 21483