Richard O’Neill, former Oak Lawn village manager, dies

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O'Neill

Updated: November 10, 2011 11:14AM

Richard O’Neill understood people, a talent he relied on throughout a career that included military service, social work and 16 years as Oak Lawn’s village manager.

Mr. O’Neill, 81, died Sept. 1 in his Orland Park home after a long illness.

“He was a very unique guy. He had this crazy knack for understanding people and understanding situations,” said Joe Faber, who was Oak Lawn’s finance director when O’Neill was village manager and who later served as village manager.

Former village Trustee Jay Bergamini echoed Faber’s sentiments.

“He had the uncanny ability to deal with a wide variety of issues and people,” Bergamini said. “He was well-regarded by most of us. ... He was a very good listener and a very good speaker. He had a very quick mind.”

A native of St. Paul, Minn., Mr. O’Neill earned a master’s degree in social work from St. Louis University. He arrived in Oak Lawn in 1967 to run a new village agency, Oak Lawn Family Services, which provided a variety of social services for village residents.

He also served on the board of the PLOWS Council on Aging as well as with many civic organizations. He was a member of the PLOWS board for 22 years, holding every officer post and committee chairmanship during that time.

Jim Craig got to know Mr. O’Neill when the two worked with Oak Lawn residents left homeless after the 1967 tornado.

“Dick was very caring and very intelligent. Dick was my mentor,” said Craig, who worked with him at Oak Lawn Family Services. “He could work with anybody.”

In 1977, former Mayor Fred Dumke appointed Mr. O’Neill as village manager. Former village Clerk Jayne Powers, who was elected clerk that same year, recalled his sense of humor.

“He liked to laugh. He loved to tell a story. He was hysterical,” said Powers, who worked at the old village hall with Mr. O’Neill, Mayor Ernie Kolb and two secretaries. “We were a tight group. We were more like family.”

But Mr. O’Neill did not like to spend time in the office, Powers said, because “he knew everybody. You had to chain him to his chair.”

Judy Lewis and her husband, Harold, moved to Orland Park from St. Louis 11 years ago and met Mr. O’Neill shortly after they settled into their subdivision.

“Dick took us under his wing,” Judy said. “We didn’t know anybody. We became friends.”

The Lewises also were the target of Mr. O’Neill’s practical jokes, such as placing a “For Sale” sign on their front lawn.

An outdoor enthusiast, Mr. O’Neill ran more than 50 marathons, including the Chicago, Boston and New York races. He also participated in several triathlons.

“He’d run from Oak Lawn to downtown and back,” Bergamini said of Mr. O’Neill’s training regimen.

Mr. O’Neill had a second career in the Army, which he joined in 1954, also serving in the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve and retiring as a captain in 1969.

He is survived by his wife, Doris, and five children — Mary Claire, Sheilah, Gene, Kenneth and Jeffrey — six grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. A memorial service was held Sept. 10 at the Robert Davidson Center in Orland Park.