Obituary of Dock Lee O'Neal

COLUMBIA-A visitation for Dock Lee O'Neal, Jr., will be held from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, June 22, 2014 at Thompson Funeral Home of Lexington, 4720 Augusta Road, Lexington, SC 29073. Burial will be held at a later date in Dickson-Union Cemetery in Dickson, Tennessee. Mr. O'Neal, widower of Marjorie Dean O'Neal, died on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. Born on October 18, 1921 in Hartsville, SC, he was the son of the late Dock Lee O'Neal, Sr. and Leland Hannah King O'Neal. He was a resident of Columbia, SC since 1961. Mr. O'Neal served in the United States Army from 1940 to 1961, retiring as a CWO3. During World War II, Mr. O'Neal served as a Paratrooper and Platoon Sergeant assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, making the combat jump with the 82nd on September 17, 1944 as part of Operation Market Garden. Mr. O'Neal served with the 82nd in combat operations until the end of the war in Europe in 1945. Mr. O'Neal was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his service in the Battle of Cheneux, Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, Mr. O'Neal served with the 101st and 11th Airborne Divisions. After retiring from the Army, Mr. O'Neal founded O'Neal Upholstery in Columbia, SC, and operated the business for 40 years. Mr. O'Neal loved aviation and was a general aviation pilot and aircraft owner. Surviving are his daughter, Phyllis O'Neal Bruff of Lexington; son, Dock Connelly O'Neal (Patti) of Marietta, GA; five grandchildren, Jessalyn O'Neal, Dock O'Neal, Jr., Derek Bruff, Jared Bruff (Linda) and Kathryn Norman (Ryan); and 4 great-grandchildren, Sophie and Lucy Bruff, James and Jude Norman.