CVL Mourns Passing of Longtime Supporter, Nancy O’Neil
By: Web Services Administrator | March 27, 2024
The Center for Vital Longevity is mourning the loss of Nancy Macgregor O’Neil, a longtime supporter of the CVL and The University of Texas at Dallas. O’Neil passed away February 17, 2024, due to complications related to rheumatoid arthritis. She was a founding member of the advisory council for the CVL as well as the UT Dallas School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences (BBS) and was the wife of faculty member Dr. John Stilwell.
“Nancy and her husband, Jack Stilwell, were the first two people from Dallas that I met after I arrived. She was a problem solver, and I called her a few times for advice, as I found her deeply reassuring. She was smart, funny and had an irreverence about issues that made me laugh,” Dr. Denise Park, CVL Founder.
O’Neil was born March 16, 1937, in Dallas, TX to Anella Slaughter Bauer and Paul Smith Macgregor. A fifth-generation Texan, she was a descendant of C.C. Slaughter, whose family settled Texas with Stephen F. Austin. O’Neil’s family still owns a ranch in West Texas established by the Slaughter family in the early 1800s. O’Neil grew up in Dallas and attended Highland Park High School and then the University of Arizona.
O’Neil was deeply involved in UT Dallas not only because of her husband’s position on the University’s faculty but also because she had a strong interest in research. As someone afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, O’Neil, a trustee with the Arthritis Foundation, was deeply interested in Dr. Ted Price’s research at the UT Dallas Center for Advanced Pain Studies. As a member of two UT Dallas advisory councils, she took a keen interest in research into aging and mental health, especially of children.
As a founding member of the Center for Vital Longevity Advisory Council, O’Neil worked closely with the program’s first director, Dr. Denise Park, who credits her with becoming a confidant as Park established the center.
“Nancy and her husband, Jack Stilwell, were the first two people from Dallas that I met after I arrived,” Park said. “She was a problem solver, and I called her a few times for advice, as I found her deeply reassuring. She was smart, funny and had an irreverence about issues that made me laugh.”
In 2021, O’Neil and her husband established the Nancy M. O’Neil and John Q. Stilwell, JD, PhD Fellowship in Behavioral and Brain Sciences to assist doctoral researchers. O’Neil said she founded the fellowship in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Center for Vital Longevity.
“Nancy was a fount of wisdom and wit who offered invaluable guidance and advice to the CVL as we established a presence within the Dallas community. We are incredibly grateful for her commitment to our research throughout all these years. She will be dearly missed,” Dr. Michael Rugg, CVL Director.
In her obituary, her family observed that O’Neil was “a beautiful benevolent force of nature, she had many advocacies, especially for children who suffered abuse and children with mental illness.”
O’Neil received numerous community service awards, including the PRISM Award from the Dallas County Mental Health Association and the Carmen Miller Michael Award for outstanding contributions to Children’s Mental Health.
“Nancy was a fount of wisdom and wit who offered invaluable guidance and advice to the CVL as we established a presence within the Dallas community. We are incredibly grateful for her commitment to our research throughout all these years. She will be dearly missed,” said Dr. Michael Rugg, CVL Director.
“Nancy was a fabulous human being and had the warmth, tenacity and elegance that characterize women leaders in Texas,” said Park. “She stood out to me as a role model and was one of the best people I have ever known.”
O’Neil is survived by her husband, four children, six grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
