Margaret R. O'Neill

Margaret O'Neill, 83, Atchison, Kansas, died Monday, July 12, 2021.

Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday, July 17, 2021, at 2:00 P.M. at St. Benedict's Church in Atchison, Kansas. Visitation with the family will be from 1:00 P.M. until 1:30 P.M. at the church. A parish rosary will be recited at 1:30 P.M. at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the Wounded Warrior Project ( Wounded Warrior Project - Donate ) and may be left in care of the Arensberg-Pruett Funeral Home. (A memorial and interment at St. James Church in Setauket, NY will occur at a later date.)

Margaret was born January 30, 1938, in the Bronx, New York, the daughter of Edward and Rose (Irwin) O'Neill. She attended St. Mary's School of Nursing, graduating in 1960. She later attended Stonybrook University graduating in 1972, and attained her Master's degree in Hospital Administration from CW Post University in 1974.

A true pioneer in psychiatric nursing, Peggy (as she was known) was the first woman and first non-MD executive director of what was at the time the nation's largest psychiatric hospital (Pilgrim State in Brentwood, NY) from 1979-1985. In 1983, she was the recipient of the Clara Barton Humanitarian Award of the American Red Cross. She later was outreach coordinator for Good Shepherd parish in Holbrook NY, and served as a member of the advisory board for the Gerontology Center at Columbia University's School of Medicine as well as the advisory board of the Benedictine College Nursing program.

Prior to moving to Atchison, she was a longtime member of St. James Parish in Setauket, NY.  She moved to Atchison in 2016 and joined St. Benedict Parish.

Survivors include her nieces and nephews, Henry (Mary Pat) Mulholland of Garden City, NY, Rosemary (Jim) Quaile of ChampionsGate, FL, Edward (Valerie) Mulholland of Atchison, KS, Kathleen Spencer of Atchison, KS, Andrew Mulholland of Celebration, FL, Edward O'Neill of Kissimmee, FL, Michael O'Neill of New York, Christopher (Sandy) Hemp of Atchison, KS and her sister-in-law, Cassie O'Neill. Grandnieces and grandnephews include Maeve Mulholland, Grace Mulholland, Henry Mulholland, Eamon Mulholland, Christopher Mulholland, CSC, Fiona Mulholland, Johnny Mulholland, Joseph Mulholland, Patrick Mulholland, Jake Quaile, Alex Quaile, Jackson Spencer, Matthew Spencer, Kayla O'Neill, and Trinity Hemp. She was also great-grandaunt to Emlyn Mulholland and James and Molly Quaile.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Edward & Rose O'Neill, two brothers, Edward O'Neill and John O'Neill, a sister, Anna Mulholland, a niece, Eileen O'Neill, and a nephew-in-law, Jay Spencer.