Obituary of Kevin Thomas O'Neill

Kevin Thomas O'Neill, 61, died peacefully on January 27, 2013 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx, New York. Kevin is survived by his beloved and loving partner of the past five years, Dyanne (Dee Dee) Thompson, his dear brother Herbert and sisters, Lauren and Carol (Vocino); nieces Laurie O'Neill, Kathleen Riordan, Lauren Vocino and Meaghan Vocino, and nephew Sean Staley; grandnephews Michael, Christopher, Matthew and James Riordan, Elliott Schwenk and his blended family, Dee Dee's four children, Meagan, John, Lindsay and Gordon Thompson. He is also survived by his former wife and dear friend, Rosemarie Soriano O'Neill. Kevin was predeceased by his parents James T. and Janet Foote O'Neill, and his brother James and sister Mary. Kevin had many wonderful friends from all walks of life. He always saw the best in everyone he met, and they all in turn loved him. Kevin, a 1969 graduate of Mamaroneck High School, participated in a number of sports at MHS, most notably as the first all-county lacrosse player from MHS, and as a defensive back on the winning football team of 1968. He was inducted into the Mamaroneck Hall of Fame. This month, it was announced that the MHS football player of the year award has been named the Kevin O'Neill award, and was first presented two weeks ago. An avid athlete throughout his adulthood, Kevin played softball through last summer. He was an excellent golfer, having honed his handicap to 6.9 during the last year. Scale modeling was another one of Kevin's passions. He took up the hobby in his twenties, and developed his craft to a fine art. In recent years, he built several scale models that took first place prizes in competitions at an EXPO for modelers. Brett Gallant, owner of Sierra West Scale Models, invited Kevin to contribute his expertise in painting for presentation models. Gallant said of Kevin's work: Kevin was a world class modeler and was considered by many to be the finest painter of resin castings in the hobby. Kevin was also an enthusiastic Porsche car racer and instructor, and member of the Porsche Club.