Marilyn Teresa O’Neil

HUDSON FALLS – Marilyn Teresa O’Neil passed away Monday morning, February 26, 2024, surrounded by friends and family. She was 86.

Born March 30, 1937 in Glens Falls, she was the daughter of John Spano and Amelia Normandin. She was adopted by Ray and Esther Labarge from South Glens Falls. When Esther went into the service to join the WACS, Marilyn was raised by her aunt and uncle, Louise and James Cain. For fifteen years, Marilyn went by Marlene Labarge until a social worker came to the house and informed her of her real name. She worked after school and on the weekends babysitting and at Montgomery Ward in the clothing department. In the nineties she worked in housekeeping at the Howard Johnson in Queensbury.

In 1957, she eloped with her high school sweetheart, Terry O’Neil, whom she met while they were working in the school cafeteria. They started their lives together in a small house on Willow Street. in Hudson Falls. They had a loving marriage for sixty-three years and raised four children.

As her husband did, Marilyn became a volunteer in the community and involved herself in civic organizations. She became a member of the United Methodist Church and worked in the kitchen helping with evening dinners, making sandwiches for chowder luncheons along with many fundraisers and other activities. When Terry was a member of the Green Jackets’ Board of Directors, Marilyn was always at the games working at a concession stand or a ticket booth. She did the same at Sandy Hill Days, which she enjoyed every year. Marilyn was a member of the Jayncees and was president of the Kingsbury chapter in 1972. She liked organizing dinners and working in the kitchen at the Masonic Temple when the Jaycees held events there. She was also an honorary member of the Hudson Falls Fire Department.

Marilyn loved to sing. She sang in plays in school; she was a soloist and member of the Moreau Fun Band, bringing her gift to hospitals, nursing, and veterans’ homes throughout the region. She produced her own CD, Songs from the Heart, at Lylac studios in South Glens Falls, singing classics from the 40s’ and 50s’ During the summer, she would open the windows and could be heard singing by the neighbors and passersby while she did housecleaning, cooking her delicious Italian food or hanging clothes on the line.

Marilyn was a selfless person and a wonderful mother. she always supported her children and their interests: sports, music, clubs, volunteering. She would greet you at the door with a hug and offer you something to eat. In the summer, she very much enjoyed having cookouts on the outdoor patio that Terry built in the backyard.

Her children and grandchildren were the center of her life. Marilyn is singing with the angels now, and she will be sorely missed by everyone whose lives she touched in her own special way. May her beautiful voice be heard throughout the kingdom of heaven.

Survivors include her four children: Stephanie Hill of Hudson Falls, Tracie (Carl) Horton of Virginia, Roland (Mary) O’Neil of Hudson Falls, and Gordon O’Neil of South Glens Falls; her sister Karen (Howard) Vandusen of Bethlehem, three nieces and nephews, five grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

Calling hours will be on Tuesday March 5, 2024 from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Hudson Falls United Methodist Church, 227 Main Street in Hudson Falls. A service will follow at 4:00 pm at the church.

Burial will take place in the Spring at Moss Street Cemetery in the town of Kingsbury.