Patricia O'Neill

May 25, 1939 - October 24, 2020

Patricia O’Neill, 81, passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday morning October 24, 2020. Patricia was born on May 25, 1939 in Jersey City, New Jersey and resided most of her life in Toms River, New Jersey before moving to Brick Township in 2018. She received her nursing degree from Martland Medical School in Jersey City and spent most of her career as a Registered Nurse at Paul Kimball Hospital; retiring in 2000 as the Assistant Director of the Operating Room. She will be remembered by those who knew and loved her as a hard-working, “no-nonsense’ woman who raised her three daughters alone after the sudden passing of her first husband, Vincent DeBenedetto, in 1979. Life truly began for Patricia in 1985 when she married the man who we would all later realize was her soulmate, Harry F. O’Neill. A rough around the edges Newark firefighter who loved her with all of his being. Thankfully for her daughters, he did all the cooking too. There was nothing too good for Patricia where Harry was concerned and he traveled with her to the ends of the earth to show her. He left her heartbroken when he passed away in 1997. If you believe in angels, then like us, you’d believe that, Montana, the German Shepherd puppy she got so she wouldn’t be so lonely was sent to her from heaven because that beautiful dog was born on the day Harry left this earth. Patricia retired from Paul Kimball Hospital in 2000, and took on the full-time position of being the youngest on her block in Holiday City Berkeley and thus the accidental caregiver to many of her elderly neighbors. Early retirement also gave her the opportunity to spend time with her beloved grandchildren, Brandon Michael, Lindsay Marie and Jake Paxton- who would later join his cousins at the table in her sunroom in 2002. She was gentle as she was feisty, as tactful as she was forthright. Her loyalty to her friends was fierce and her laughter was infectious. Everyone who knew her knew that for over thirty years Tuesday nights were for ceramics class. It was her therapy from a job as a nurse and a getaway from three girls who all went through their teenage years at the same time. If you didn’t get a lighted Christmas tree at some point, well it’s because you didn’t ask for one. What most don’t know about Patricia is how incredibly giving and charitable she was even at the times when she didn’t have much to give. She was a devout Catholic who never questioned the path her life took but embraced each step and faced each challenge as the incredibly strong woman she was. Patricia leaves behind her three daughters; Donna Marie Charters and her husband Kenneth of Falls Church, Virginia. Debra DeBenedetto of Beachwood, New Jersey. And, Denise Winstead and her partner John Boronkas of Brick, New Jersey. Her son-in-law, W. Erik Winstead. Her three grandchildren; Brandon Michael Charters, Lindsay Marie Charters, and Jake Paxton Winstead. Her two sisters; Joann DiLullo and Catherine DeVito. All of us take comfort in knowing Harry was waiting with open arms to whisk her away to her eternal paradise. Visiting will be Friday, October 30th from 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM at the Silverton Memorial Funeral Home, 2482 Church Rd., Toms River. A funeral mass will follow to St. Luke's RC Church at 10:30 AM, followed by a Burial at Ocean County Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the Where Angels Play Foundation, P.O. Box 670, Oakhurst, New Jersey 07755.