Obituary
Anna Marie O’Neill, (95), a longtime resident of Wingdale, NY, passed away on July 16, 2021 at Sharon Health Care Center after a brief stay. Anna spent her youth in Yonkers, NY, and built her first new home with her husband, Gus, in Goldens Bridge, NY, where their family grew for a decade before moving to Wingdale. When Gus departed, Anna became a “snow bird”, spending winters in Port Charlotte, FL near her sister, then moved to Millbrook for a short time before living with a daughter in her final years.
Born on March 16, 1926 in Teaneck, NJ, she was the daughter of the late Henry and Mary (Mitschele) Batz. Anna graduated with a business degree from Commerce High School in Yonkers, NY in 1944 and worked for the Newman Insurance Agency. On June 28, 1947 in Yonkers, NY, she married Augustine J. “Gus” O’Neill who predeceased her on February 22, 2000. After a dedicated and fulfilling full-time career of 25 years raising children, Anna returned to office work at Hunt’s Country Furniture in the early 1970s, when her youngest was school-aged. She retired in 1988 after serving 15 years as a mail clerk for the US Postal Service in Wingdale, NY.
Anna was a loving wife and mother to eight children. In their later years together, Gus would look around at crowded family gatherings and say to her, “Look what we started!” There is a legacy, indeed, of hard work, laughter, and good times! Anna and Gus always prioritized family and family get-togethers, with their children and extended family, including Sunday dinners, trips to the Jersey Shore, Friday night “pool party” cookouts and the memorable Ireland Trip of 1996. Anna sang harmony to favorite songs in many family gatherings over the years.
Like many talented women of her era, Anna cooked, baked, sewed, painted and hung wallpaper, gardened, canned vegetables, created Halloween costumes and Christmas presents out of the ether, and stretched a budget as if it were elastic – all while washing diapers and hanging them on the clothes line to dry. In addition to managing an organized household, seeing to her children’s needs and supporting their participation in activities, she was well-educated as an avid reader, exercised regularly, was very creative, liked movies, and sing-alongs and passed those interests along to her children. She handled life’s challenges and tragedies with faith and grace, was kind-hearted and inclusive.
Anna participated in many community organizations. She was a member of the Dover Doers (Home Bureau), Town of Dover Historical Society and Dover PTA. She served as treasurer of the South Dover Rural Cemetery Association and belonged to the Senior Citizens in Wingdale. Anna was a parishioner of St. Charles Borromeo Church in Dover Plains for many years and a member of the Altar Rosary Society and choir. In later years, she lived at The Fountains in Millbrook and she joined St. Joseph’s Parish. Anna lent her beautiful soprano voice to the Choir at multiple churches she attended from the time she was a teenager, including St. Charles Borromeo and the St. Joseph’s Choir in Millbrook, where she participated in a broadcasted radio performance under the direction of choirmaster Bernadette Syversen.
Anna is survived by a sister, Patricia Oles of Richmondville, NY, four sons, James O’Neill and his wife, Cheryl, of Dekalb Jct., NY, Thomas O’Neill and his wife, Roberta, of Richville and Wingdale, NY, Timothy O’Neill and his wife, Sheri, of Wingdale, NY and David O’Neill and his wife, Loralie, of Wingdale, NY and Pierrpont, NY; three daughters, Peggy Goico and her husband, James, of Holmes, NY, Colleen Avery and her husband, Michael, of Apache Junction, AZ and Wingdale, NY and Mickey O’Neill of Providence, RI and Amenia, NY. She is also survived by nineteen grandchildren: Jonathan O’Neill, Melissa Anderson, Caron Reynolds, Matthew, Kimberly, Andrew and Tyler O’Neill, Kelli Conroy, Brian, Robin and Jeffrey Avery, James Goico, Jennifer Maass, Meaghan Maciokas, Jessica Sauro, Clara and Marshall Lovell and Zachary and Alyssa O’Neill. Anna is also survived by twenty-one great grandchildren.
In addition to her parents and husband, Anna was predeceased by a son, Donald O’Neill in 1977 and a sister, Charlotte Giordano of Port Charlotte, FL.
Anna’s family is very grateful to many people who touched her life in her later years. Special appreciation to her dedicated and attentive caregivers, Mona and Okeva who adoringly cared for her in Apache Junction, AZ and Ronnie, Karen, Cheryl, Krista, Jessica, Shauna, and Alice who affectionately cared for her in Wingdale, NY. The family also extends their gratitude for the months of excellent care provided by her nurses, Danica and Megan, social worker, Kameko, her home health aide Crystal, Chaplin, Chris, and music therapist, Mary, from Hudson Valley Hospice. In addition, the family expresses appreciation to the kindhearted staff and providers at Sharon Health Care Center and Foothills Visiting Nurse Hospice for their compassionate care in her final days.
Calling hours will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at the Hufcut Funeral Home, 3159 Route 22, Dover Plains, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 22, 2021 at Immaculate Conception, 4 Lavelle Rd, Amenia, NY. Burial will follow at South Dover Rural Cemetery in Wingdale, NY.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contribution may be made to Hudson Valley Hospice, 374 Violet Ave, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601 or online at https://www.hvhospice.org .
