Nicholas T. O'Neill (1940-2021)

The swashbuckling oil and gas entrepreneur whose life cast him in various roles of corporate leader, defender of shareholder rights, religious humanitarian, no-holds-barred political idealist, and one-time Chicago commodities trader, died on Sunday, September 5, 2021, at his home in Tulsa. He was 81.

Mr. O'Neill was drawn to Oklahoma to empower oil and gas professionals to stretch the outer bounds and explore new horizons. Born on Chicago's south side and raised in a Catholic home, Mr. O'Neill insisted that his real motives were to give back to communities in need. "No one has ever become poor who is a giver," he wrote in one of his final manuscripts in 2018.

In classic wildcatter style, Mr. O'Neill's fortunes rose to prodigious heights and then collapsed, only to resume their roller coaster course in later years. In the apex of his career in the early-1980s, he crisscrossed the country on corporate jets, negotiated joint venture deals, developed deep oil and gas wells, and actively sought to improve conditions for Catholic nuns and priests.

Mr. O'Neill developed his nose for the oil-and-gas business as a boy. He was born on August 28, 1940, in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Frances S. O'Neill, a San-Francisco-based Clairol executive, and adhesives industrialist Edward James O'Neill, who assisted legendary brewing magnate August "Gussie" Busch, Jr. by providing adhesives services for bottled products of one of the world's largest breweries.

Mr. O'Neill is survived by his son Anthony J. O'Neill (Emilie) and one grandchild, Caroline. A memorial service will be held at St. Rita of Cascia Chapel at 2520 S. Yorktown Ave., Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 5:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Cascia Hall Preparatory School.