Obituary: Perry Holliday O'Neal

By Brian Biggane

    GULF STREAM — If there’s one thing Alice Dye wants people to know about her brother, Perry Holliday O’Neal, it was that he had a deep sense of caring for his fellow man.
    “He was in the Trust Department at the bank, so he always took care of people, got them whatever it was that they needed,” said Dye, who along with husband, Pete, form one of the best-known golf design tandems in the world.
7960658272?profile=original    “Whether it was something significant or even something as simple as a pair of slippers, he would take care of it.
    “I’ve received more than 50 letters from people whose lives he helped and encouraged, who helped them through many, many crises in their lives. Most people didn’t realize how wonderful he was to so many. He was a loving gentleman at all times.”
    Mr. O’Neal, a resident of Gulf Stream since 1980, died May 14.  He was 86.
    Mr. O’Neal was graduated from Yale University in 1952 and from the University of Virginia Law School in 1957. After a two-year stint in the Army he began his banking career at Indiana National Bank (now Chase) in Indianapolis and served as executive vice president and trust officer until his retirement in 1980.
    Mr. O’Neal always enjoyed being close to family, which brought him to Gulf Stream long after Alice and Pete had moved to South Florida in 1959. He also enjoyed his summers at the family vacation home in Lake Maxinkuckee in northern Indiana.
    “He would play tennis there, but sailing was his favorite thing,” Alice Dye said. “He would compete in all kinds of sailing races and really loved boats: motorboats, sailboats, whatever. He would spend as much time on the water as he could.
    “Even though he enjoyed that, competition was not his favorite thing. He liked to participate but winning was not his primary goal.”
    While both Pete and Alice Dye have both been champion golfers, Alice’s brother more or less dabbled at the sport.
    “He had a yearly game with us at Christmas,” Alice said. “He had a lovely swing, and could play nicely, but he really had no interest beyond that.”
    He was, however, extremely active in civic organizations throughout his life. He was an active member of the Maxinkuckee Yacht Club and Maxinkuckee Country Club and was also a founding member of the Indianapolis Racquet Club.
    His caring nature also led to involvement with the Fairbanks Alcohol and Drug Treatment Center, also in Indianapolis, which helps individuals and families in their battles with those addictions. He continued those efforts in South Florida with Wayside House, which helps women struggling with substance abuse.
    Above all, Dye said, it was Mr. O’Neal’s caring nature that she will remember best.
    “Not long ago he said to me, ‘If anything goes wrong I want you to know you’ve been a wonderful sister.’ That’s the way he was with people. He was a loving gentleman.”

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