Edward P. O'Neill | Navy commander, 91

Edward P. O'Neill, 91, of Malvern, a retired Navy commander and company executive, died of Parkinson's disease Wednesday at Devon Manor.

Mr. O'Neill graduated from La Salle College High School in Philadelphia and attended the former Pennsylvania Maritime Academy. After earning a third mate's license, he spent two years on ocean liners in South America. He then earned a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

During World War II, he served in the Navy aboard the Chiwawa, a tanker that supplied oil to convoys. The ship is now the Lee A. Tregurtha, a bulk carrier in the Great Lakes. Its owners recently honored Mr. O'Neill as the lone survivor from its World War II service.

Mr. O'Neill remained in the Navy after the war and served aboard four ships and at bases in the United States and abroad. While stationed in Washington, he met Emma Moes at a Navy party. They married in 1960.

After his retirement from the Navy in 1966, he was purchasing director for C. Schmidt & Sons Brewing Co. in Philadelphia. In the 1970s. while working for Schmidt's, he was a consultant to a commission to streamline Pennsylvania state government. He retired in 1979.

Mr. O'Neill enjoyed history and politics, tennis and golf.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, Marc; a brother; and a sister.

A Funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Monday at SS. Peter and Paul Church, of which he was a founding member, 1325 Boot Rd., West Chester. Friends may call at 10 a.m. Burial will be at 11 a.m. July 25 in Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery.