Patrick O'Neal

A funeral service for Rev. Patrick O'Neal, age 44, of Spirit Lake, will be held Thursday, February 12, 2015 at 10:30am at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake. Burial will be at Lakeview Gardens Cemetery. Visitation will be on Wednesday, February 11th after 3:00pm with the family present from 4:00-7:00pm at Turner Jenness Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Memorial contributions may be given to: Immanuel Lutheran Church Highway 71 South Spirit Lake, Iowa 51360 Or: O'Neal College Fund c/o Robobank 470 Arneill Road Camarillo, CA 93010 Rev. Patrick Eugene O'Neal was born June 10, 1970 in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Gene and Beulah (nee Dommer) O'Neal. His formative years were spent in Camarillo, California, where he graduated from Camarillo High School in 1988 and graduated cum laude from the University of California, San Diego in 1993 with a BS in Cognitive Science. Patrick received a Masters of Divinity degree from Concordia Theological Seminary in 1999. In addition to this four year course, he participated in a one year theological study at Cambridge University in England. He was ordained as a minister in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on June 13, 1999 in Algona. Patrick was united in marriage to Jennifer Hanson on November 18, 1995 in the chapel at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri. His calling as a Pastor and Missionary brought the family to Algona, Iowa, Kingston, Jamaica and Seoul, Korea before receiving a call from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Spirit Lake in 2010. He was serving as Senior Pastor at the time of his passing. As a young man, Patrick was the captain of the UCSD bicycle racing team. He loved scouting, obtaining his Eagle Scout honor in 1987. Pastor O'Neal also enjoyed many interests, including photography, calligraphy, wood working, travel as well as reading, hiking, cooking and spending time with his family. Most of all, he loved his work as a Pastor, teaching people of all ages about the word of God, visiting the elderly, comforting the sick and dying. His witness of faith and the confidence he had in Jesus brought him through a 28 month battle with brain cancer. He died with a cross in his hand, his last opportunity to point others to the Savior. Pastor O'Neal went to be with Jesus in his heavenly home on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at Spirit Lake Healthcare, surrounded by family, at forty-four years of age. Pastor O'Neal is survived by his wife, Jennifer; children, John, Grace and James; parents, Gene and Beulah O'Neal; sister, Connie Kritzer and her husband, Kevin; other family and many friends. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Russell and Alma O'Neal and Elmer and Bessie Dommer.