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08/10/2012 02:00 PMC. Roderick O’Neil, 81, of Mt. Kisco, New York, former banker, investment manager, and co-founder of Riverfront Recapture in Hartford, died July 28 at Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich. Mr. O’Neil died of complications related to ALS.
Mr. O’Neil was born on Jan. 26, 1931 in Amityville, Long Island, New York. He graduated from Princeton University in 1953 and received his MBA from the University of Chicago GSB in 1957. Among his hobbies, he was an avid tennis player and also a licensed pilot.
In business, Mr. O’Neil led the trust department for the Manufacturers Hanover Bank before moving to Hartford to serve as chairman of the Finance Committee and board member of The Travelers Companies. He left that position in 1984 to launch a private investment firm in partnership with Alan Greenspan, Greenspan O’Neil Inc. In 1986, he became chairman of the financial consulting company, O’Neil Associates. Mr. O’Neil served on a wide range of corporate and nonprofit boards, including Beckman Coulter, AMBAC, Colt Manufacturing, Fort Dearborn Income Securities, Brinson Trust Company, Memorial Drive Trust, and the California Institute of the Arts. He was a Chartered Financial Analyst and was trustee and past president of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts. He chaired the State of Connecticut Investment Advisory Committee from 1988 to 1991 and had served on the Investment Committee of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for over two decades. He was a director of the Corporation for Independent Living in Hartford and director (1982 to 1993) and past chairman of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. But, in many ways, his proudest achievement was the role he played in the restoration of the Connecticut River waterfront in Hartford. Now, close to one million people each year visit the chain of parks, walkways, and boathouses created by Riverfront Recapture, which “The Hartford Courant” called “one of the state’s most successful non-profits.”
Mr. O’Neil maintained his family home in Mt. Kisco, New York, with his wife, Nancy. However, when he joined Travelers in 1977, he and his wife became pioneers in the revitalization of downtown Hartford and were active in the restoration of a number of historic properties, including 20 Charter Oak Place. In 1985 the O’Neils restored the Simsbury 1820 House in Simsbury, and were owners until 1997.
Mr. O’Neil was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He married Nancy Galante in 1950. Together, they had six children: Brian, Sarah, Tim, Kevin, John and Anne.
Besides his wife and children, he is survived by 13 grandchildren and his brothers, Terry O’Neil of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Tom O’Neil of Guilford.
A memorial service was held on Aug. 1, at the Bedford Historical Hall in Bedford, New York. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Riverfront Recapture in Hartford, or to The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig MDA/ALS Multidisciplinary Care Center at Columbia University in New York City. The Beecher Funeral Home, Pleasantville, New York, was in charge of arrangements.