Submitted by: Dan Rich

Katherine O'Neil

Feb. 12, 1922 - July 16, 2000

South Bend Tribune 7/19/2000

Katherine "Kay" (Zirille) O'Neil, 78, passed away on Sunday, July 16.

She was born on Feb. 12, 1922, in Plati, Italy, and came to the United States in August 1929 with her parents, Frank and Frances Zirille, and siblings, Joseph, Dominica, Marion and Elizabeth. The family eventually settled in Mishawaka, Ind., where Mrs. O'Neil graduated from Mishawaka High School in 1942.

She married Patrick Eugene O'Neil in 1956, and had three children. They moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1960 where they joined St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church. Patrick O'Neil preceded her in death in 1969.

Mrs. O'Neil was employed by the University of Michigan for over 20 years. She retired in 1986. Mrs. O'Neil was a very active parishioner at St. Thomas Church where she was a member of the Altar Society. She was a founding member of the Notre Dame Club of Ann Arbor, and was a founder and president of the Daughters of Diloreto in Mishawaka. She was an avid gardener (a photo of her with her prize hibiscus once ran in the Ann Arbor News), and an outstanding cook, most noted for her Madeleine cookies and dinner rolls.

She is survived by a son, Patrick; daughter-in-law, Gail; two grandsons, Patrick and Brian; and daughters, Mary and Peggy, all of Reston, Va.; and by her sisters, Elizabeth "Betty" Sergi of Indianapolis, Ind., and Marion Bezi of Mishawaka.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 20, in the Thallemer-Goethals Funeral Home, Mishawaka, where a Rosary will be recited at 7:30 p.m.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 21, in St. Monica Catholic Church, Mishawaka, with interment following at St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Granger, Ind.