Dorothy "Dot" O'Neil

DOROTHY (DOT) O’NEIL 1930 – 2024

Norwich – Dorothy (Dot) O’Neil peacefully passed away on 4 April 2024. Dot was born on September 5, 1930 in Norwich, one of eight children, the daughter of the late William F. O’Neil, Sr. and Catherine (Yerrington) O’Neil.

A lifelong Norwich resident, Dot’s greatest passion was her love of sports. Inducted into the Norwich Free Academy Sports Hall of Fame in 2001, an article written in that fall’s edition of the NFA Alma Matters highlights her amazing athletic career. It reads as follows, “Dorothy “Dot” O’Neil, Class of 1948, was by all accounts NFA’s most outstanding female athlete of her generation whose record of sports accomplishments continued well past graduation. Dot participated in field hockey, badminton, volleyball, basketball, softball, archery and tennis every year for four years while at the Academy. Through her many victories in intramural sports, Dot was the first NFA student to earn her Girl’s Athletic Association blazer in only three years. She reached the required benchmark of 2,500 points in her upper year, displaying her natural ability in all sports offered to girls at the time. She was particularly skilled in tennis and badminton, bringing fame and glory to NFA on state, national and international levels. Dot won three Connecticut State Badminton titles during her NFA career” (CIAC State High School Championship in Girls Singles) and went on for a record 21 consecutive Connecticut State Championships into adulthood from 1953-1973. “She claimed the USA National Championship in Women’s Singles in 1964 and represented the United States on its National Badminton Team in international tournaments four times.” (World Championship US Uber Cup team in 1960, 1963, 1969 and was captain of the team in 1972. In addition, she won the Mexican Open Singles championship in 1965 in Mexico City.) “Also, her skill as a tennis player led to a Top Ten ranking in New England. As a student, Dot was ranked tenth in her class and was voted Class Athlete and Nicest Personality by her peers.”

In addition to her NFA Sports Hall of Fame induction, Dot was named Norwich Sportsmen of the Year in 1968 and was the first woman inducted into the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. “She was the 1975 recipient of one of the highest honors in her sport of badminton – the Ken Davidson Memorial Award for the U.S. player who has “contributed the most to badminton and whose sportsmanship, attitude and achievement best exemplify the spirit of badminton…,” (Watch, Smash the Birdie by John Lacy). In 1994, Dot was inducted into the USA Badminton Hall of Fame/Walk of Fame.

“Off the court, Dot served as American Badminton Association Director, President and Treasurer of the Connecticut Badminton Association, a member of the USBA Ranking Committee, as the Connecticut representative to the Northeast Badminton Association. Dot coached for ten years at the Connecticut Badminton Camp and had been the Tournament Chairman of the Connecticut Open Badminton Championships for over 25 years. She served as a line judge at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.” (www.usabadminton.org)

Early in her professional career, Dot was employed by the William W. Backus Hospital as a medical transcriptionist and later became a radiological technologist. She was the Practice Manager for the former Norwich Radiology Group, PC, a freestanding Diagnostic Imaging Center with offices in Norwich and Putnam, CT, for over 40 years.

Dot will be greatly missed by her brother, Robert A. O’Neil and his wife Mary Ann of Preston, as well as her 21 nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her brothers, William F. O’Neil, Jr., Charles O’Neil, John (Jack) O’Neil and Richard O’Neil, in addition to her sisters, Catherine O’Neil Szablinski and Sr. Mary Winifred O’Neil, SP.

In lieu of flowers, to honor Dorothy’s legacy as a trailblazing female athlete the family requests memorial contributions be made towards the Dorothy M. O’Neil ’48 Memorial Award at NFA, an endowed scholarship to be awarded annually to an outstanding graduating female athlete. Donations can be made by sending checks payable to NFA Foundation, Inc., include Dorothy O’Neil on the “For/Memo” line and address to Attention: Christina Fleury, NFA Foundation, Inc., 321 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be Saturday April 20, 2024 at 11 AM at the Cathedral of St. Patrick 213 Broadway, Norwich, CT with burial to follow in St. Joseph Cemetery in Norwich. Cummings-Gagne Funeral Home 82 Cliff St., Norwich has been entrusted with arrangements, please visit www.cummings-gagnefh.com to leave condolences or share a memory.

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