George O'Neal

On Thursday, September 26, 2019, George O'Neal of Connell, Washington, peacefully passed away at age 90.

George was born in Colby, Kansas on September 15, 1929 to Harley and Marguerite (Alcott) O'Neal. He was the youngest of 5 siblings. George graduated from Colby High School in 1947, and then attended Kansas State University for two years before entering the Marine Corps (USMC). While there he trained as a pilot becoming an instructor, traveling with his squadron to many places in the world and finally landing in Hawaii where he met Gail Wirth of Connell. On January 2, 1960, they married and soon settled on Gail's family's farm just north of town. There they raised 3 daughters, Abby, Amy and Zoee.

George was an exceptional father, farmer, friend and neighbor. He loved to drive around the farm and always had a camera with him to take pictures of wildlife, airplanes, flowers and interesting clouds. He would often pull over to visit with people and if they offered coffee and a cookie, all the better.

George is preceded in death by his parents, siblings Helen Renker, Donald Joseph (Joe) O'Neal, and Mary Marguerite "Peggy" Dean, daughter Abby and wife Gail. He is survived by his sister Betty Poague of Lincoln, Nebraska, sister-in-law Kathleen O'Neal of Colby and daughters Amy (Eric) Talbott of Pasco, Washington and Zoee (Remie) DeRuwe of Connell along with numerous nieces and nephews. He has 5 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

A celebration of George's life will be held on October 5, 2019 in Connell, Washington. Interment will be at Mountain View Cemetery at 10:00 am with a service at the United Methodist Church, 104 S Burke Ave. in Connell at 11:00 am. A lunch will follow the service at the church.

Memorials may be made to the Connell United Methodist Church or to a charity of your choosing. To order flowers please contact Boxwood in Ritzville, WA at 1-509-707-8700. All flower orders must be in by 5:00 p.m. Friday Oct. 4, 2019. To leave online condolences for the O'Neal family please visit our website at http://www.danekasfh.com.