O’NEILL, Mary Catherine (Conway) 1947-2022

O’NEILL, KERNAN, CONWAY

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 7/22/2022 at 15:26:17

Mary Catherine O'Neill, 74, of rural Lansing, IA, died Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center in La Crosse, WI. Funeral services will be held Monday, July 25th, at 11:00 AM at Immaculate Conception Wexford Church in rural Lansing with Fr. Joseph Sevcik officiating. Burial will be held at the church cemetery. Friends may greet the family from 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM Sunday at Martin - Grau Funeral Home in Waukon, where there will be a 1:30 PM scripture service, and also one hour before the service on Monday at church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Wexford Foundation.

Mary Catherine O’Neill was born July 23, 1947, in Waukon, IA, the daughter of Hugh and Alice (Kernan) Conway. She attended Lafayette #7 school and graduated from St. George High School in Lansing, IA.

Mary dated John O’Neill during high school, but religion was very important to her so after high school she considered becoming a nun and entered the Sisters of the Presentation Convent in Dubuque. Even though religion was still a big part of her life, she changed her mind and sent a letter to John, who was serving in Vietnam, hoping to rekindle their high school romance. On June 21, 1969, they were married and were blessed with three sons: Johnny, Joey, and Tommy.

After they were married, John and Mary lived in Texas and Waterloo for a few years before returning home to the Lansing and Harpers Ferry area. Mary worked at Kerndt Brothers Bank in Lansing, was the secretary at Waterville Elementary for many years, and was the Allamakee County Auditor for two terms. She loved her work and treasured all the relationships she developed during those years.

Mary was a lifelong member of the Immaculate Conception Wexford Church in rural Lansing, where she was baptized, confirmed, and married. Mary was very active in her parish as a member of the rosary society, the Wexford Foundation, and served as bookkeeper. She was also a proud member of the Harpers Ferry American Legion Ladies Auxiliary.

Mary loved her family above all. Family get-togethers were very important to her. She treated everyone to the smell of fresh pancakes for breakfast and a chocolate cake for snack time. Mary enjoyed watching John, her children, and her grandchildren play ball over the decades. John and Mary took the family on a vacation every summer. One of these was a special “bucket list” trip where they took the whole family to Florida in 2015. She and John took many bus trips around the U.S. and also traveled to Hawaii, Alaska, Ireland, Jamaica, and Mexico.

One of Mary’s favorite hobbies was playing cards. When the grandchildren were young it was go fish, memory, or old maid. Believe it or not, very seldom did she win. As they got older it was euchre and 500. Eventually it developed into other card games, most of which were made up on the spot. She also enjoyed reading, doing crossword puzzles, and solving the Wordle.

Mary is survived by her husband John of rural Lansing; her children: John (Becky) and Tom (Christy) O’Neill, of Waukon; daughter-in-law Michelle O’Neill of Waukon; 10 grandchildren: Tyler, Megan, John, Hunter, Nathan, Jack, Colton, Emma, Dylan, and Oliver; her siblings: Dan Conway of Lansing, Ellen (Bob) Zwirlein of Monona, Hugh (Lana) Conway of McAllen, TX, Mike (Jeanne) Conway of North Carolina, Rose (Don) Ripperger of Lacona, and Ray (Diane) Conway of Polk City; in-laws: Sally Conway of Cedar Falls; Jim and Sue O’Neill and Mary and Jim Winters, of Waukon, and Pat and Sally O’Neill of Harpers Ferry; along with many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents Hugh and Alice Conway; her parents-in-law Steve and Eleanor O’Neill; her son Joe O’Neill; infant grandson Christian O’Neill; and five brothers and three sisters- in-law: James (Sonja) Conway, Joseph (Josie) Conway, Leo (Penny) Conway, Patrick Conway, and John Conway.

Mary's grandchildren will serve as casketbearers.