Johanna Lee O'Neal

JOHANNA O’NEAL OBITUARY

Johanna O'Neal May 5, 1936 - December 31, 2022 Longtime Mentone resident Johanna Lee O'Neal passed away on New Years Eve at the age of 86. She was born in 1936 in Inglewood, California, the first of three children. Her parents, Leah and Ralph "Brick" Reading moved to Hawthorne, where Johanna graduated from Hawthorne High School in 1956. She attended El Camino Junior College and began her career at Northrop Aircraft. She married James Lee Clark in 1958, and together they had two children, Marie and James. Sadly, she lost her husband soon after. In 1962 she married her second husband Gene O'Neal in Las Vegas, Nevada, and gave birth to son Kenneth in 1963. She and Gene were longtime Southern California residents, having lived in Placentia, West Covina, and Yucaipa before moving to Mentone where her mother and father had settled. 

She was a devoted and loving wife and mother. She was a passionate golfer, voracious reader, and loved classical music and her beloved cats. Her grandchildren were her pride and joy and she recently celebrated the birth of her first great grandchild. 

Johanna was preceded in death by her brother, Dennis "Denny" in 1995, and her husband Gene in 2005. She is survived by her three children, Marie (Scott) of Redlands, Jim of Mentone, and Ken (Jane) of Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado. She left her sister Kathleen "Kitty" of Mentone, nine grandchildren: Kyle, Jimmy, Wade, Sean, Laura, Bradley, Jenni, Leah, and Kevin; and one great grandchild, Wayland. A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 20th at 11am at Emmerson-Bartlett Memorial Chapel in Redlands.