Rita O'Neill

Mrs. Rita M. O'Neill
William Wesson Inc. retiree


NAUGATUCK — Mrs. Rita Mary (Fleming) O'Neill, age 88, of Naugatuck, died Saturday, May 19, 2012, at her home.

Mrs. O'Neill was born in Waterbury on Dec. 6, 1923, daughter of the late John A. and Elizabeth (Smith) Fleming. She retired from William Wesson Inc. where she had worked as a private secretary for many years and was a communicant of St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Naugatuck. She was a member of the Naugatuck Women's Club, the Naugatuck YMCA Water Lillies and the Naugyettes.

Mrs. O'Neill is survived by two daughters, Nancy J. Kirby and her husband David A. Kirby of Leesburg, Fla., and Joan O. Fisher and her husband Stephen J. Fisher of Terryville; three grandchildren, Lisa Crabtree and her husband Scott, Lori Basile and her husband Warren, and Matthew Fisher and his wife Dana; and four great-grandchildren, Brian Crabtree, Lauren Hull, Leanne Basile and Keaton Fisher. She was predeceased by a brother, Donald Fleming, and a granddaughter, Kaitlynn Fisher.

Mrs. O'Neill's family would like to thank the staff of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care in Middlebury for the loving, compassionate care and support that they provided to Rita and her family.

A funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, May 22, 2012, at 11 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 318 Church St., Naugatuck. Family and friends are asked to please meet directly at the church. Burial will be in St. James Cemetery in Naugatuck. There are no calling hours. The Buckmiller Brothers Funeral Home, 82 Fairview Ave., Naugatuck, is in charge of arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Memorial and Honor Program, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

For more information and online condolences, please log on to www.buckmillerbrothers.com