John Michael O'Neill, Sr.

John Michael O’Neill, Sr. of Madison, Georgia, passed away on June 22, 2025, at Morgan Medical Center at the age of 87. John was born on June 6, 1938, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to the late Daniel Joseph O’Neill and Agnes Marie Griffin O’Neill.

John was a Sales and Marketing Executive for Storage Technologies – a very successful one. He always said ‘I felt like the luckiest man alive to work for such a great company with great coworkers and clients’ but it was clear his success came from his positive attitude towards his career – people gladly worked for him, clients gladly gave their business to him, and so the company gladly moved him up the ladder.

He met and fell in love with his next-door neighbor, Marilyn Leanna, while residing in Chicago, Illinois. She was a flight attendant, and John would often tell you she was the most beautiful one in the airline skies. Theirs was a storybook romance. The couple married on February 23, 1963, and celebrated fifty-seven years of marriage until her passing in 2020.

In 1973, Marilyn and John relocated to Atlanta. In the mid-1990s, they moved to Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia and most recently resided in Statham, Georgia. Friends along the way will tell you John was a really neat guy. Fun to be with, truly enjoyed people, never met a stranger, always willing to lend a hand. Whether you were a janitor, repair person, the server at the restaurant, a coworker, a neighbor, a friend he welcomed you with a smile. His sense of humor truly infectious. Furthermore, people felt loved and appreciated by him.

John loved his pups. JD, Josie, Benny were constant companions. He gave graciously of his time to his community. When retirement left energetic John with not enough to do Habitat for Humanity filled the gap. Hammer in hand he was regularly at the job site, working, cutting up with the other volunteers and passing the day away.

John and Marilyn raised a wonderful family. Few things were more important to John than being with his family. Spending time with children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren was a high priority for them. Holidays, vacations, graduations, rodeos, time at the beach, birthday parties, tooling around in his boat were simple pleasures that are leaving his family so very many precious memories.

John is survived by their son John Michael O’Neill Jr., also known as Micky (daughter-in-law Beth), their daughter Joy Michelle Norton (son-in-law Kelly), seven grandchildren: Joni Holland (husband Mark), Matthew Lackey (wife Sharon), Michael O’Neill, Leanna Boalch (husband Michael), Kaitlyn Howeth (husband Mike), Eric Clanton, Connor Clanton, and eight great-grandchildren.

John was preceded in death by Marilyn Josephine Leanna O’Neill (beloved wife), Daniel Joseph O’Neill Sr. (father), Anges Marie Griffin O’Neill (mother), brothers Daniel Joeseph O’Neill Jr., Robert O’Neill, sister Marie Terese Spraner, and his precious grandson Bradley Christian Clanton.

John and Marilyn’s love ran so very deep and those who love him are at peace knowing they are reunited forever.

Services will be held at McCommons Funeral Home in Greensboro, Georgia, on Tuesday, July 1st, at 11 a.m., visitation starting at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made to piedmontathensgive.org in honor of John O’Neill.

After the service, the family invites you to dine with them at Amici Madison (casual Italian café), 74 W Washington St, Madison, GA.

McCommons Funeral Home, located at 109 W. Broad St., Greensboro, GA, (706) 453-2626, is in charge of arrangements. Please visit www.mccommonsfuneralhome.com to sign the online guest registry.

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