Lawrence Joseph O'Neill

Lawrence Joseph O’Neill of Elizabeth, CO died on April 5, 2019 at the age of 76.  He was born in Edgerton, Wisconsin June 26, 1942.  His wife, Suzanne, his brother Jack of Belmont WI, his children Dawn and Kyle of Colorado, and grandchildren King Burtt, Emillia O’Neill, and Felicity O’Neill, survive him, along with several nieces and nephews and their children.  His parents John and Generose O’Neill, brother Jim O’Neill, and sister Maribeth O’Neill predeceased him.

Before retirement, Larry O’Neill was a business consultant, helping many small businesses to obtain financing – from this funeral home to his daughter’s UPS store.  He modeled his working life after the bankers he knew growing up in Wisconsin – bankers who knew the businesses in town and helped them to run and develop successful businesses.  He was an athlete in high school and at Milton College.  He started a business distributing rotisserie meats.  While the success of his business derailed his college career, he later returned to earn degrees and complete graduate work in public administration. Larry served in the Marines as a young man and returned to the Army after he sold his business and the recession of 1973 arrived.

Larry had a keen sense of humor, was a life-long contrarian, and placed a high value on honesty, justice, fairness, loyalty, conservation, education, and critical thinking.  He made many people laugh and to think.  Long before the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe, his answer to the many unanswerable questions in life was “37”.  He kept himself informed, synthesizing information from many papers, and valued good journalism.

He will be missed. A celebration of his life will be held in May or June. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the High Country News Research Fund, Nature Conservancy, or charity of your choice.

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