After high school, Deacon O’Neill joined the Society of Mary as a religious brother and left in 1975. After college, he taught at Noth Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and Chaminade High School in Dayton. He was hired as religion teacher and eventually assistant principal at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and has been in education ever since. Deacon O’Neill has been married to Patricia Roth O’Neill (a former Dominican Sister and “the love of his life”), for 48 years. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Deacon O’Neill eventually became director of Allentown (PA) Business College, Mansfield Business College (Canton) and Hickock Technical Institute (Cleveland). He became Director of Continuing Education at Stark State College in Canton, until he retired in 2013, after 50 years in education, at 72.
In 2000, he was ordained a deacon for the Youngstown Diocese by Bishop Tobin and since then has served the community of Holy Spirit Church in Uniontown. About his lifelong ministry and devotion to the Church, he says, “Through my wife, my family, my education experiences and my ordination, I am truly grateful to the Lord for a full and rewarding life.”
Congratulations on 25 years in the permanent diaconate! To send him well-wishes, you can reach out via email.
