The O'Neal Genealogy Association Newsletter

Jump to Page Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Go Back to Web Site

TOGA NEWS Volume III, Issue 6, June, 2003

Harley's granddaughter, Mary Lynn O'Neal Morin wrote:

"My grandfather, Harley, owned a plumbing and Heating business in Milford, Illinois, and lived in a beautiful Victorian home that was a joy to visit; stained glass windows, maid's stairway, pocket doors and a sweeping front staircase. My grandmother cooked great meals, and when the entire family got together, it was loud and jovial. He loved to go "up north" to Wisconsin to fish and enjoy the wild country. As a child, I was always fascinated by the large fish hanging on the dining room wall."

"I don't believe my grandfather was a religious person, but he was a good person. My grandmother was the one who belonged to the Milford Methodist Church, and she often provided flowers for the altar from her beautiful garden. Her flowers and beautiful arrangements were known around Iroquois County, for she entered them in many fairs. She also provided flowers for local graduations. The garden in her backyard was breathtaking: there was a trellis seat that we grandchildren fought to sit in to enjoy the garden."

"It was beyond this garden, on the other street, that my mother and her family lived several years with her grandmother and she often watched the handsome young man who moved into the Harmon house come and go She even cleared the brush between her grandmother's backyard and my grandmother's garden so that she could see the yard (and Glenn!) better. She still has a nasty scar made by the scythe that sliced her leg as she was clearing the area. Eventually she met the new neighbor, my father, Glenn O'Neal."

"Later in his life Harley began doing woodworking. He made toys and garden gadgets such as Indians in canoes with whirling paddles; he often let me help him paint the finished products!!"When he became quite ill and finally sold the house, he came to live with my parents; and my mother helped care for him until she developed a heart condition and was unable to do so any longer. He then went to stay in Cincinnati, Ohio with his youngest son, Earl, who was a minister. It was there that he died on November 2, 1975 at age 90. Myra died on January 9, 1970. All of the children of Harley and Myra are now deceased, with the exception of one."

Harley lived a full life and passed on November 2^nd, 1975 at 90 years of age. He can be found today at his final resting place, the Maple Grove Cemetery in Milford, (Iroquois County) Illinois.