Obituary: Janet Mary O’Neil (1937-2023)

Janet Mary O’Neil (Age 86)

Janet Mary (Corcoran) O’Neil passed away peacefully at the age of 86 on Tuesday, the 27th of June in Richmond, Va. She lived most of her life in Arlington, Va., but hailed from Newton Lower Falls, Mass., as did her kith and kin. She was the daughter of Henry J. Corcoran and Mary Powers and had two brothers, Henry “Bud” Corcoran Jr., and Gerald Corcoran.

Born and raised on Moulton Street (“Corcoran Row”), she excelled in virtually every category. In athletics she was the only girl invited to pitch for the Newton Lower boy’s sandlot games and played tennis, basketball, and field hockey. She was a straight A student, winning a full scholarship to the Boston College School of Nursing. There, she served as president of the National Student Nursing Association and graduated magna cum laude.

In 1959, she married her high school sweetheart, Bill O’Neil, a Naval Aviator, before raising three children, all boys. She served as school nurse at Brussels American High School in Belgium, where her husband was deployed.

Following their divorce, she earned a master’s degree in social work from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She worked many years in inner city social work at City Lights before retiring in Arlington.

Janet was continually active in local politics, serving as an Arlington County Democratic Precinct Captain and other volunteer positions over the years. She was a choir member at Our Lady Queen of Peace church in Arlington and a founding member of its meditation group.

She is survived by her three sons, Mark (Alessandra), John (Ginger), and Matthew, and grandchildren Giacomo, Erin, Jacqueline, and Lauren. She will be intensely missed by them and many others as she made many lasting, loving friendships throughout her lifetime.

There will be a Memorial Service at Our Lady Queen of Peace, 2700 South 19th Street, Arlington, VA 22204 at 11 a.m. on August 17.

Submitted by Bliley’s Funeral Home