Dr. Lawrence A. O’Neill, 84, formerly of Middletown, died Jan. 30. Lawrence was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of William and Lucretia O’Neill. Raised in Highlandtown, he received his B.S. from the University of Maryland, his M.S. from Catholic University, and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
He started his career with the United States National Security Agency in Washington, D.C. immediately after completing his undergraduate degree. After more than a decade at the NSA, he moved to New Jersey to work for Bell Laboratories in Holmdel where he worked 27 years until his retirement in 1994. He also served five years on the executive committee of the IEEE/ACM Design Automation Conference (DAC) and as the general chairman of the 24th conference in Miami, Florida.
Lawrence was an active member of the Middletown community where he lived for over 40 years with his wife Virginia, and raised his two girls. He was elected to the Middletown Township Board of Education, serving seven years from 1973-1980, two as board president. He also received the Middletown Jaycee Outstanding Public Servant award.
Lawrence was a voracious reader and world traveler but his greatest pleasure was watching his four grandchildren grow up.
He is survived by his daughter Virginia McDonald, Rumson; daughter Judith Benedict and her husband William, Middletown; and four loving grandchildren, John and Kelly McDonald and Erinne and Christian Benedict.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Feb. 9 at the Church of St. Catharine, Holmdel. Entombment followed at St. Gabriel’s Cemetery in Marlboro. There will be no visitation. Memorial donations may be made to The Friends of the Middletown Township Public Library. Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank, was entrusted with the arrangements.
