|
Anchorage resident Patricia Ann O'Neill, 75, died of breast cancer Dec.
25, 2007, at home while surrounded by her family and friends.
No services are scheduled. Inturnment will be near her parents at Calvary
Cemetery in Seattle.
Patricia was born Jan. 30, 1932, in Kennicott, to Charles Thomas and
Iloe Charlotte (Slade) O'Neill. The family lived in McCarthy in the
1930s, running the O'Neill Mercantile Store until moving to Anchorage in
1939. During the "war jitters" of the 1940s, they rode the train to
Seward to board the steamship Denali to Seattle. She attended school in
Anchorage and Seattle.
Alaska Airlines was her first employer, followed by Morrison-Knudsen
during construction of the White Alice communication system. During her
marriage to Ralph Pritchard, they lived briefly in Bolivia, South
America. Returning to Alaska, she worked for RCA on the
maintenance and operations of the White Alice sites. A jeep trek
to Cabo San Lucas prior to a paved road followed. Other employment
opporunities included Wien Air Alaska, Wachenhut during construction of
the trans-Alaska pipeline, Arco at Prudhoe Bay, and finally a dream job
at CIRI for 20 years.
Her family wrote: "She was an adventurous traveler and camper and loved
the outdoors, gardening, the beautiful Alaska sunsets and sunrises,
Alaska and all God's creations."
She is survived by her niece, Cassie O'Neill of Seattle; many cousins;
and special friends at Safehaven in Anchorage.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and brother, Thomas Slade
O'Neill.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to
Providence Hospice, 3435 E. Tudor Road, Anchorage 99507-1282.
Published in the Anchorage Daily News on 12/28/2007.
|