Jim was born in Dillon, Montana in March of 1948 to Bill and Marie O’Neill. He was the eldest of five children, the younger ones being Tom, Danette, Bill and Kevin.

The young family first moved first to Ennis, Montana and subsequently to Kalispell, Montana where they enjoyed the great outdoors. When Jim was 14, California beckoned the family and they moved to Fremont, California where Jim graduated from Irvington High School. He received his AA with a major in history and a minor in music from Ohlone College as the first graduating class. At the age of 24, he enlisted and served in the US Army for 7 years which included 3 years in the Panama Canal Zone. On March 2nd 1974 he married Annette Marian Eisen. Together, they raised two daughters Sarah and Adriane.

Jim’s steady hands were helpful in special premature cases in phlebotomy at Stanford for 15 years. He continued in both phlebotomy and as a lab technician at the Palo Alto Veteran’s Hospital. Jim served others by working the swing shift at the Veteran’s Hospital for 20 years until his retirement in 2017.

He was forever collecting photos of family, friends and nature. He loved both earthy things like museums, festivals, and road trips, along with the abstracts of history, philosophy and science fiction. He was an absolute master of the dime toss carnival game.

Jim will be greatly missed by his wife Annette of 45 years, his children Sarah (John) and Adriane, and grandchildren Jules, Una, and Killian. He is preceded in death by his parents.