Joan Mae O'Neil, 80, of Manchester, passed away September 20, 2008 at the Catholic Medical Center after a period of declining health.
She was born on May 21, 1928, in Manchester, the daughter of Lawrence J. Mitchell and Mary Elizabeth (Mahan) Mitchell, who had emigrated from County Roscommon, Ireland.
Joan was educated at St. Raphael Grammar School and graduated from Manchester High School West.
Prior to retirement, she had been employed by the City of Manchester Health Department for many years.
An avid sports fan, she enjoyed watching Boston's professional sports teams, especially the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics, and Patriots. She also followed Notre Dame and Boston College football. She supported numerous local athletic organizations including St. Anne CYO Basketball, Henry J. Sweeney Post American Legion Baseball, Manchester Babe Ruth League, and Trinity High School Athletics.
She was very devoted to her Catholic faith and was a longtime parishioner of St. Anne Church. She had most recently been a communicant of St. Anne-St. Augustin Parish.
Above all else, she was a caring and devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, great-aunt, Godmother, and friend who will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
She was predeceased by her husband Daniel P. O'Neil in 1984.
Family members include her daughter, Kathleen Courchesne of Manchester; three sons, Daniel P. O'Neil and his wife Karyn of Manchester, Patrick O'Neil of Manchester, and Brian O'Neil and his wife Kristin of Manchester; four grandchildren, Charles and Matthew Courchesne, and Jack and Kathleen O'Neil, all of Manchester; one brother, Lawrence J. Mitchell and his wife Norma of Manchester. She was predeceased by her only sister and her husband, Dorothy and Paul Mahoney. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Kathleen Noonan and her husband George of Wrentham, MA; two brothers-in-law, William O'Neil and his wife Grace of Manchester, and Denis O'Neil and his wife Celia of Manchester; many nephews, nieces, cousins, and close friends.
The Mass of Christian burial was celebrated on Thursday, January 25, 2008 in St. Anne-Augustin Church, Beech St, with the Rev. Msgr. John Quinn officiating. Burial followed in St. Joseph Cemetery, Bedford.
Memorial donations may be made in her memory to the Sisters of the Precious Blood Monastery, 700 Bridge St, Manchester, NH, 03104, The American Cancer Society, 2 Commerce Drive, Suite 110, Bedford, NH, 03110, or the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, 1332 North Halsted Street, Suite 201, Chicago, Illinois, 60622.