Agnes O'Neil

Agnes Bertha O"Neil passed away at St Joseph Village nursing home, Manhattan, Ks. on Monday August 18, 2008 at age 96 Years and 3 months. She was born May 10, 1912 to Ernest Eugene and Bertha Emaline Bennett in a log cabin on her grandfather William Eugene Bennett"s fruit farm west of Paola. She was the oldest of their 10 children. She attended Oak Grove and Poplar Ridge elementary schools in Miami County, and graduated from Paola High School, class of 1930. She received her normal teaching certificate and taught at Union school in Miami County the following year. In May 1931, she married Henry "Dolph" Stuart, a construction worker, avid hunter, and horseman. During the depression era, married women were not allowed to teach, so she attended Kansas City Beauty College and then opened and operated a beauty salon in Bonner Springs, Kansas from 1933 to 1945. . In 1946 she attended Wayne State Normal College in Nebraska and was re-certified to teach. She taught 3 years at the Omaha Indian reservation at Walthill, Nebraska before returning to Rantoul, Kansas. where in 1952, after 21 years of marriage, she gave birth to her only child, John Thomas Stuart. 2 years later she resumed her life"s work of teaching. For 30 more years she taught at many schools in the area, including Plum Creek, Maple Grove, Rock Creek near Wellsville, Edgerton, Pleasanton, Paola South, First Lutheran, and Holy Trinity. Along the way she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Ottawa University. She retired in 1974 at age 62. Henry Stuart passed away in December 1965. In 1970 Agnes married Olin "Ray" Crellin, who operated a jewelry and gift shop on the North side of the Paola downtown square. They were active in Paola"s civic and social life. Ray was Chairman of the Miami County Fair Board for many years. Ray and Agnes were also prominent in the local Masonic lodge. Agnes was a member of the Perfection Chapter of the order of the Eastern Star, twice attaining the position of Worthy Matron. Agnes was on the executive board of the Miami County Hospital Auxiliary, a charter member of the Miami County Retired Teachers Assn., and a member of the West Valley Pleasant Hour Club. She loved to quilt. She was a member of the Busy Bees Quilting club and a charter member of the Miami County Quilters guild, where her daughter-in law, Naomi Clifton of Osawatomie is still active. Ray Crellin passed away in 1979. In 1982, Agnes married Lester O"Neil and moved to his farm on Harvest Road. Lester, a semi-retired restaurateur from Kansas City, had worked at the Phillips Pipeline pumping station a mile south of their farm, and still raised cattle. Lester and Agnes enjoyed their retirement by traveling on bus tours as far away as Nova Scotia, Florida, the Gulf coast, California, and the Canadian Rockies. In 1990 they sold the farm and moved to Manhattan, Kansas to be near Agnes"s son John, his wife Dorothy, and their children. She greatly enjoyed being a grandmother. Lester O"Neil passed away in 1994. Soon after, Agnes moved to the Homestead Assisted Living center and in 2006 to the St. Joseph Village nursing home, both in Manhattan. She is survived by her son and his family: John and Dorothy Stuart and their daughter Allison of Manhattan, her grandson and his wife, Jesse and Kristyn Stuart of Cincinnati, Ohio, and 1 remaining sister, Mrs. Frances Carson, of Bellflower, California, Visitation will be 1 to 2 PM on Saturday August 23, 2008 at Wilson Funeral home, in Paola. Agnes will then be placed at the side of her first love, Henry A. Stuart, in Antioch Cemetery, overlooking Hillsdale lake. Antioch Service: Graveside Service Saturday, August 23, 2008 2:30 PM Visitation: Saturday, August 23, 2008 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM