Grosse Pointe News

Sean Cotton, Owner • Anne Gryzenia, Publisher • Jody McVeigh, Editor In Chief • Meg Leonard, Senior Editor

16980 Kercheval Pl. • Grosse Pointe, Michigan 48230 • 313.882.6900 • Monday-Friday 9am-4pm

Jemima O’NeillFree Access


Grosse Pointe Park resident Jemima “Ina” O’Neill, 97, passed away peacefully Monday, Sept. 3, 2018.

Born Feb. 6, 1921, in Clydebank, Scotland, to a shipbuilding family, Ina was the only daughter of Sarah (nee Hogan) and John O’Neill. She was predeceased by her parents and brothers, William, Matthew and John.

Ina immigrated to Michigan in her early 20s after living through the World War II bombings of Glasgow and Clydebank. First working as a housekeeper and an aid at Convent of the Sacred Heart, she later worked for Dr. Harold Cross and family. Ina lived and worked more than 50 years with the Cross family. She was a much beloved nanny to the Cross children who considered her to be part of the family.

At age 68, Ina “retired” but, never one to just rest, became a volunteer in the mammography department at Henry Ford-Cottage Hospital, which she did more than 20 years.

Ina proudly became a U.S. citizen in 1968, though she never lost her love of her homeland or her Scottish brogue. She paid regular visits home and stayed in close touch with her extended family in Scotland. She also enjoyed time with her Hogan family cousins in Michigan.

Ina loved the Lord and was a parishioner and choir member at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church. Later in retirement, she attended and was a volunteer at St. Ambrose Catholic Church in Grosse Pointe Park.

Ina had a song in her heart, reveled in telling tales from her native Scotland of the wee folk, heroic Scots and her time growing up in Clydebank, the shipbuilding capital of the world, before and during WWII.

Ina is survived by her loving “children,” Kathleen Schroeder, Maureen Bennett and Fr. Kevin Cross and her cousins in Scotland and Michigan. She will be greatly missed by her loving friends and family.

A Celebration of Life Mass will be celebrated 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church, 15020 Hampton, Grosse Pointe Park. Visitation begins 9:30 a.m. at the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org.