Hugh O'Neill

Hugh O'Neill died unexpectedly at his home in Shawnee County on March 19, 2022 at 81 years of age. He was born to Eleanor Sullivan and Leo O'Neill in Boston, Massachusetts on August 14, 1940. As the son of a mining engineer, he lived in Central America, South America, and Florida in addition to Massachusetts and Maryland. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in 1959 and attended Florida Southern College and George Washington University. He married Deborah Griffin in 1960 and they had two children, Brennan and Brian. He was a Capitol police officer at the US Senate in Washington, DC in the 1960s. Hugh married Elizabeth Murphree in 1973. He then began a career in public affairs, first with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, then at the White House in the Office of the Press Secretary (1976 – 1977) as staff assistant to President Ford. In 1978 He was press secretary for Senator Bob Packwood of Oregon. Following that he was the Deputy Press Secretary for John Connally's Presidential campaign. He worked in the office of the Press Secretary for the Reagan-Bush Campaign in 1980 – 1981.

When President Reagan was elected, Hugh was appointed to the White House staff as Deputy Director in the Office of Presidential Advance. He directed U.S. participation for several summit conferences (Ottawa, Cancun, Versailles), and coordinated Senior Staff, Cabinet and Congressional Members' activities on Presidential trips to more than 35 states and 6 foreign countries. In 1983 he left the White House to work for other agencies in Washington, DC in public affairs over the next few years including, the Department of Energy, Peace Corps, Office of Management and Budget and the Small Business Administration. He was called to work the United Nations Summit in New York in 1984 where a senior UN official described him as "the best White House advance man I have ever seen." In 1988 he became Director of Communications for the Governor of Florida. In 1989 he returned to Washington as Assistant Administrator of Public Affairs for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Hugh retired from Federal Service in 1993. Having been divorced for 10 years, Hugh left the world of Washington behind to marry a Kansas farmer's daughter, Loretta Hoerman, in 1993 after a whirlwind courtship. They lived briefly in Seneca, Kansas where Loretta worked as a Physician Assistant and Hugh learned what Midwest living was like, calling friends in Washington to report that he'd seen someone on the golf course in bib overalls. Hugh and Loretta moved to Topeka in 1994. After working as a consultant for a time, he went to work for Kansas Secured Title in 1997. He retired from there in 2017. He volunteered for several years at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka.

Though from entirely different backgrounds and with a 16-year age difference Hugh and Loretta had a marriage that worked. They most enjoyed European travel together going on annual trips throughout most of their marriage until the pandemic struck. Hugh remained interested in politics, sports and he was an avid reader. And yes, he was in the Blind Tiger TV commercials.

Hugh was predeceased by his parents, brother Jeff, and daughter Brennan Dawson. He is survived by his wife, Loretta; sister, Sheila in Bethesda, Maryland; sister-in-law, Barbara O'Neill in Maryland and her children Kathleen, Carol and Steve; his brother-in-law Lawrence Hoerman and his wife Ellen Thiemann in Sublette, Kansas; and his son, Brian Dawson in Nashville, TN.

Honoring Hugh's request, cremation is planned. A celebration of life gathering will be from 2:00-4:00 p.m., Saturday, April 9, 2022 at the Dove Cremations and Funerals, Southwest Chapel, 3700 SW Wanamaker Rd., Topeka, KS.

Memorial contributions may be made to Topeka Rescue Mission, PO Box 8350, Topeka, KS 66608-0350.

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