Magdalena O’Neill (1937 – 2024)

Magdalena O’Neill, 87, of Front Royal, passed away on the 10th day of January 2024. Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Magdalena moved to Virginia to study at Averett College in Danville. She married Robert J. O’Neill in 1959 in New York City, and they went on to work and raise their children in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Paraguay, and Ecuador before moving to Front Royal, Virginia, in 1978, where she lived for the rest of her life.

Magdalena O’Neill

Magdalena worked as a Spanish teacher at Wakefield Country Day School for over 15 years and later as an early childhood educator at Meadowland Learning Center. Magdalena was active in the Lioness Club and in her local parish of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church. Her greatest love, particularly in her later years, was traveling to spend time with her children and grandchildren who lived around the world.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert J. O’Neill (2009), and her daughter, Patricia O’Neill (2021).

She is survived by her children, Robert R. O’Neill of Front Royal, Virginia; John O’Neill and wife Bethany O’Neill of Front Royal, Virginia; Kathleen Lalande and husband Jasmin Lalande of Ottawa, Canada; son-in-law Alain Bernal of Sant Feliu, Spain; eleven cherished grandchildren, Elise, Amanda, Lucas, Matthew, Emma, Carmen, Gabriel, Thomas, Elisabeth, Felix, and Clara; and one precious great-grandchild, Madeleine.

A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Front Royal, Virginia, conducted by Father Tom Shepanzyk. Interment will follow in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Front Royal, Virginia.

Pallbearers will be Robert R. O’Neill, John F. O’Neill, Alain Bernal, Jasmin Lalande, Lucas Bernal, and Matthew O’Neill.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday evening, January 17, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Maddox Funeral Home in Front Royal, Virginia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Little Sisters of the Poor: https://littlesistersofthepoor.org/donate-to-lsp/.