Ellen O'Neill (nee Hatcher)

To view the service for Ellen O’Neill on July 2, 2024 at 11 a.m., please click the following link:

https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTcxOTYwMzU4MzMxNjM3NSZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw==

We are saddened to announce the passing of our mother, Ellen (Nellie) O’Neill on April 11, 2024 after a short battle with cancer. At the time of her passing and during her illness, she was surrounded by her family. As promised, she was never alone.

She is predeceased by her husband, Leonard and her siblings Jack, Mary, Allen and Rita. Leaving to mourn and to celebrate her life are her six children; Tony (Brenda), Sandie (Tom Quinn), Donna (Glenn Moores), Terry (Carolyn), Lenny (Eileen) and Tracy (Dave Penney); 12 grandchildren, (Tony, Adam, Kenzie, Brian, Melissa, Amanda, Tasha, Justin, Len, Chelsea, Rachel and Owen); 16 great grandchildren, her siblings (Alice, Fred, Gordon, Shirley, Lilly and Eddie); and special friend Ursula Jamieson.

Special thanks for the wonderful care of her family doctor, Dr. Michelle Wagoner, the Palliative Care Team and the Palliative Care Unit at the L.A. Miller Centre. Thank you to all of our friends and extended family who supported us in so many different and important ways. Your kindness and thoughtfulness got us through the hardest three months of our lives.

On December 21, 1937, Ellen arrived as an early Christmas present for Annie and Allan Hatcher. She was the third child in a family that would grow to include 11 brothers and sisters. Ellen grew up in a hardworking home on 18 Linegar Avenue in Shea Heights with her siblings Mary, Alice, Allen, Fred, Jack, Gordon, Rita, Lilly, Shirley and Eddie.   

As in most pre-Confederation Newfoundland communities, families truly worked to live, and the Hatchers pulled together to make ends meet. After completing grade nine, life at home would keep Nellie busy full-time. Vegetable gardens, chickens and horses, cooking and baking, making clothes, helping with the little ones. There was so much to do, and she learned to put her hand to anything and everything – still finding time to ‘sneak’ a book under the covers at night. These experiences would define a sense of self-sufficiency and determination that influenced the rest of her life. 

When she met Leonard at 17, she was swept off her feet with his fun loving demeanour and larger than life personality. They married two years later and started a family, eventually moving into the home on Weymouth Street that they built together. They shared a wonderful life, raising children who were always Ellen’s greatest source of happiness. The pride and love she felt for Tony, Sandie, Donna, Terry, Lenny and Tracy would only be matched by her grandchildren, Tony, Adam, Melissa, Amanda, Tasha, Justin, Kenzie, Brian, Len, Chelsea, Rachel and Owen. Ellen’s life became even more full of love with 16 great-grandchildren, (Faith, Julia, Henry, Hailee, Heidi, Emma, Eli, Ezra, Soren, Isla, Eloise, Oliver, Emilia, Parker, Jack, and Nixon). At family gatherings Ellen was Mom, Nanny and Granny all at once.

With Leonard working away for the majority of his career, Nellie ran the household, taking on every role without hesitation. Get on board or get out of the way – and she was just as adept with a paint brush or hammer as a mixing spoon. Finding creative ways to make it all work included sharing the space in their busy three bedroom bungalow beyond the immediate family. On a number of occasions Ellen welcomed family and friends to stay for extended periods. In particular, she knew first-hand the challenges that women experienced in getting ahead and she embraced opportunities to support the special women in her life who were working to achieve more for themselves. Bringing everyone together was a theme that also ran through the many legendary parties and outings that were part of those years. Len would take the lead as social director, disc jockey and bartender, making sure Nellie had a vodka and Seven poured up just right. 

As prosperity increased and family life began to slow down, Ellen found more time to focus on herself. Her aptitude for self-education was evident in the personal expertise she developed around healthy living, nutrition and exercise. She also completed her GED, took typing and computer classes and became a vegetarian. In her fifties Ellen discovered spiritual growth through the Seventh Day Adventist Church, learning and taking great comfort in the faith and its supportive community of friends for the rest of her life.  

When Leonard passed away in 1999, his absence was strongly felt. Despite the loss, Ellen continued on, finding joy in the relationships she treasured with her sisters Lilly and Alice and her good friends Ursula, Bridget and Rose. Of course family always remained first and her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were always close by. Most recently, Ellen lived with her daughter Tracy and her family. While she continued to live independently and kept up her own apartment, Nanny O. was also an integral part of the Penney family on Laurier Street for the last 13 years.  

A strong woman to the very end, Ellen will be dearly missed by all those who were privileged to know her.  

Visitation will take place at Carnell’s Funeral Home on Monday July 1^st, 2-4 and 7-9. The funeral service will be held from the Carnell Memorial Chapel on July 2^nd at 11:00 am. The service will be livestreamed for those who cannot attend, the link is available at the top of the page.

Inurnment to follow at Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, you may choose to donate to the Cancer Care Foundation (https://cancercarefoundation.ca/donate/).