The Visor

MG O’Neil’s death leaves behind long legacy in Akron and Hoban

September 11, 2009

Carmine Sbnera

       Some judge success on what they have saved when they die; others on what they have given. M.G. “Jerry” O’Neil was clearly a believer in the latter.

       While his success is readily appar­ent, it is the hard work and charity he sacrificed during his life that he will be remembered.

       Even though he was the president of General Tire, a rubber company that helped put Akron on the map, as well as a member of a hospital board, a bank board and a  

“Jerry was the kind of guy who when he walked in the room the lights came on… he was a dynamo.”

— Former Board Member Bill Aylward

chairman for several other boards that helped develop Akron into the city it is today; even though he won the Polsky Humanitarian Award for his concern and understanding of people, these monumen­tal accomplishments are small pieces in the life and legacy that he has left behind for Akron and for Hoban.

       “Although he contributed a lot to Akron, he always made time for fam­ily,” his grandson and student at Ho­ban, Jordan Cook said. “He was a good father and a good grandfather.”

        For a man who has been put into the same category as men like John S Knight, Edward Thomas and Ben Maidenburg, all cornerstones of Akron’s foundation, it’s not hard to imagine how bright O’Neil was.

       Unknown to the majority of people at Hoban, O’Neil was pivotal, along with the first ever high school board of trustees, for keeping our school open in the 60’s and 70’s.

       “He had a global outlook,” said Brother Robert Lavelle, the headmaster at Gilmour Academy. “He was always friendly and very outgoing.”

       This group of visionaries noticed a problem with Hoban’s enrollment and quickly set out to correct the problem. After a tedious process and multiple ap­provals from the diocesan hierarchy, a poll was taken in order to determine what kind of school parents wanted their kids to attend.

       After surveying 800 people without the use of today’s technology, 83% of those polled said they wanted a coeducational school. These steps led to Hoban to be­come the coed institution it is today.

       “Jerry was the kind of guy when he walked in the room the lights came on. He was a dynamo,” said Bill Aylward, a member of the Hoban Board as well as a trusted friend. “We should be so proud of Jerry’s stature.”

       It’s almost sad to sum up a person’s life just using words. It is important to remember though when cheering in the stands or sitting in a classroom, this is Hoban, a school with a rich history, built on the blood, sweat and tears of people like Jerry O’Neil.

       People dedicate their lives to schools like Hoban because they care, not because they want to buy their way into history. Jerry O’Neil was one of those special people who shaped not only a city, but also a school community.

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