Eugene (Gene) Thomas O’Neill, 98, of New Hope passed away peacefully on January 16th.
Gene was born in Belleville, New Jersey. In January 1941, at the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was a Radioman First Class on the USS Rigel, which was anchored in Pearl Harbor on the Day of Infamy, December 7th, 1941. On duty that morning, he sited a plane through the radio shack porthole, diving then pulling out of the dive, then an explosion followed by more explosions and the sounds of gun battle. He ran to a catwalk just in time to see a Japanese plane fly over his ship so low he could see the pilot’s face and the torpedo hanging under the plane. He and many other service men and women witnessed the horrors of war that day. While Gene liked to share his story, it was never done without tremendous emotion.
He continued his tour in the Pacific and the Atlantic on the USS George Clymer which took part in the invasion of French Morocco in November 1942, the rescue of 38 Chinese and Fijian women and children hiding from the Japanese for over a year in Guadalcanal in April 1943, the invasion of the Bougainville, Solomon Islands in November 1943, the invasion of the Marianas in July 1944, the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines in September 1944 and the invasion of Okinawa in February 1945.A decorated soldier, he was honorably discharged in October 1945. He returned to Belleville, NJ where, on a blind date, he met the love of his life and future wife, Catherine Walsh, who predeceased him in 2017 after 67 years of marriage. While working and raising four children, Gene went to night school under the G.I. Bill and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Seton Hall University so he would be able to provide a better life for his young family.
Gene retired from the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company in 1983 after 37 years, where he began as a lineman climbing telephone poles with just his boots, cleats and a safety belt and working his way up to Accounting Manager. After raising their family in Roseland, New Jersey, they retired to Spring Lake, New Jersey, later moving to New Hope to be closer to family. Gene loved boating, fishing, cooking, golfing, bowling, reading, playing bridge, smoking an occasional cigar or pipe, old Westerns, the Opera, British comedies, the New York Giants and, most of all, spending time with his family. Gene was a man of few words, instead speaking through his unquestionable love, commitment and dedication to his family.
He is survived by his children, Thomas O’Neill (Margi), Janice Day (Dennis), Catherine Scandone (William) and Mary Beth Formica (Michael). He was the beloved Pa to his grandchildren, Thomas and James O’Neill, Erik (Liz), Emily and Megan Formica and Great Pa to his six great-grandchildren.
Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in his memory to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org.
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