BOMBER MEMORIAL

BARBARA ANNE ELLEN BLOOMSTRAND O'NEIL ~ Class of 1953
February 25, 1935 - February 28, 2016

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Barbara passed away Sunday, February 28, 2016, after all her family had visited. Her husband, Jack (ill with Parkinson's, severe short-term memory loss) had finally released her hand and been wheeled out of the room. She did not die until only a hired care-giver remained.

Her husband Jack died just weeks after Barbara in Tucson, Arizona,. Jack was a kind, quiet thinker known as "Slim".

Barbara had big smiles, dry humor, great legs and a fighting spirit. She graduated from Richland's Columbia High in 1953 and Washington State University. She worked as a nuclear technician at the famous Hanford Works where her immigrant parents contributed to the Manhattan Project enriching uranium into plutonium during WWII.

Jack was an Elks Club, Knights of Columbus, and American Legion member. Barbara was an active school volunteer, Ramapaoug Womens Club member, and Westfield YMCA participant.

They are survived by their son Jack O'Neil (Jane Piness), their daughter Cindy O'Neil (Chris Linscott), and their grandchildren Miles, Jennifer, Tyler, Jacqueline, Faith and Grace.

A memorial mass was celebrated July 23, 2016, at St. Thomas Catholic Church in West Springfield, followed by burial in St. Patrick's Cemetary in Chicopee Falls.

Donations in Barbara's name should be to the American Cancer Society.