Thomas O'Neill

Thomas ONeill, 91, of Marshalltown, died Monday, February 28, 2011, at the Marshalltown Medical & Surgical Center. Mitchell Family Funeral Home is caring for Thomas and his family. Memorial services for Thomas will be held at 9:00 a.m., Friday, March 4, at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Marshalltown. Following the memorial services, committal services with honors will take place at 12:30 p.m., at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter, Iowa. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be directed in his name in honor of Elsie ONeill to the Alzheimers Association. For further information or to send a condolence please visit www.mitchellfh.comThomas was born December 5, 1919, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the son of Thomas and Johanna Marie (Christensen) ONeill. He was raised and educated in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Thomas honorably served his country as a member of the United States Navy during World War II. Following his honorable discharge, Thomas returned home and was united in marriage to Elsie Chekal on July 9, 1953, in South Dakota. To this union three children were born: Jeff, Jay and Tammy. Together they raised their family while living in Belle Plaine, Council Bluffs, Fort Dodge, Colorado, Kansas, Oelwein, Ankeny and Marshalltown. During his lifetime Thomas worked over forty-four years for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad and the Martin Marietta Defense Systems as part of the United States Department of Defense. During his retirement years, Thomas worked for Hy-Vee where he made many friends. Thomas enjoyed fishing and volunteering at the VA Clinic in Marshalltown. Most of all he was a people person, who never met a stranger and always had time to visit and have a conversation. Thomas was a current member of the Trinity Lutheran Church in Marshalltown, the Marshalltown Masonic Lodge # 108 AF & AM, the High Twelve, and the Marshalltown Moose Lodge. Thomas is survived by his two sons: Jeff (Ann) ONeill of Osceola, and Jay (Angela) ONeill of West Des Moines, his daughter Tamara (Bryan) Dubberke of Beaman, his nine grandchildren: Trent, Levi (Katelyn), Blake, Erica, Justin (Charlene), Chelsea, Matt, Joshua and Trevor and his great-granddaughters Temperence and Olivia. Thomas was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Elsie his brother Jim and his sister Marie Erickson.