Carol P. O'Neill

Carol Elizabeth Therese Pope O’Neill, 80, died January 21, 2025, at Brighton Gardens Nursing Home in Columbia, MD, following a short but difficult illness. May she rest in peace and bask in the joy and warmth she so lovingly deserves.

Born March 8, 1944, in Washington D.C., Carol spent her early childhood growing up with her older brothers, John and Bob, and her younger sister, Ruth Ann, at 1712 R Street, NW. Eventually, her parents, Etta and Archie Pope, moved Carol and her siblings into a single-family residence they purchased in Hyattsville, MD.

 Carol recounts many fond memories growing up in Hyattsville. She and her siblings were raised in a brick home, with a grassy front yard, and a park that was accessible from the backyard gate. One push and you were through.

 As she grew up, she often baby-sat for extra cash and rode her bike to different places, since her mom did not drive. Her father, an auto salesman, once stopped by St. Jerome’s Catholic School, in Hyattsville, where Carol attended school, to show off a shiny new factory car. Carol fondly remembers many students running over to look at it.

Carol graduated from Regina High School in Hyattsville. She started attending college at the University of Maryland, College Park, and recalled waiting for the bus on Route 1 to get up to campus. She always spoke with joy about the classes that she completed. 

Eventually, she met her husband, Peter Edward O’Neill, Jr., of Lucinda, PA, at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. She worked there as a secretary while her new beau was employed as an engineer.

 She knew he was a keeper, she said.

 Carol and Pete married July 10, 1965, at Saint Jerome’s Church, which was followed by a reception at Howard Johnson’s in College Park. The two of them developed lifelong friendships with Pete’s colleagues at Goddard Space Flight Center.

 Within a few short years, Carol and Pete started a family in Riverdale, eventually raising five children, Pete, Patrick, Maggie, Jennifer and Matt. After the birth of their youngest child, they moved the family into a larger, more accommodating home, with a spacious yard, on Good Luck Road, in New Carrollton, MD.

As her children grew up, Carol frequently visited the New Carrollton Library, a favorite home away from home. She played tennis with a close friend on summer evenings. She enjoyed trying new things: occasional evening classes, like calligraphy; folk art painting; and quilting – she even bought a Bernina sewing machine that she put in an upper bedroom.

She also discovered new challenges, working a few hours a day as a lunchtime receptionist at Automotive Parts and Accessories and Association. Later on, she was hired full-time at the University of Maryland, University College, where she worked for 20-plus years. She also began volunteering as a docent at the historical Calvert Mansion, in Riverdale.

She often traveled to Pennsylvania with Pete to visit his family. She developed many strong connections with her sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, her nieces, nephews and godchildren. Carol continued to visit Lucinda, long after Pete died in 2009. Her last trip was in the summer of 2024.

She and Pete were church-going members of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Riverdale. The two of them developed many lifetime friendships through the church’s CANA club. After Pete’s passing, those strong friendships continued, offering Carol a robust, supportive community to love on. She frequently met her friends for lunch to celebrate birthdays and to share stories about family and children.

In more recent years, she attended St. Matthias Church, in Lanham, catching a ride to services with a friend. She also traveled to Florida during the winter months to be closer to her daughter and son-in-law, Jen and John, and three of her grandchildren.

She continued to spend time in her yard, appreciating the visiting birds, and enjoying the daffodils and other flowers that her eldest son, Pete, helped to care for. Carol also enjoyed having lunch with her son, Pat, and liked visiting Pat and his wife, Michele, in their nearby home. Additionally, she participated in weekly rosary groups online, and kept up with her Nashville and Reno grandchildren through FaceTime.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Etta and Archie; her husband, Pete; brothers, Bob and John, and sister, Ruth Ann; a nephew; and a sister- and brother-in-law. She is survived by her five children, Pete, Pat, Maggie, Jennifer and Matt and their spouses; many, many nieces and nephews in Maryland, Pennssylvania and elsewhere; and eight loving and doting grandchildren.

A viewing is scheduled for 11 a.m., Saturday, January 25, at Saint Matthias Catholic Church, 9475 Annapolis Road. A funeral service is scheduled for 12 p.m., Saturday, followed by a catered lunch in Saint Matthias’ Hall. Come and join us in celebrating Carol’s life.

 In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Prince George’s County Library or the Riversdale Historical Society.