DANIEL KENNETH O'NEIL

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DANIEL KENNETH O'NEIL July 7, 1941 - May 26, 2015 Daniel left us peacefully on May 26, 2015. He was predeceased by his father Kenneth Henry O'Neil and his mother Gladys Adelia Axford. He is survived by his sister Edna Elizabeth Proulx in Penticton, BC. Daniel was born in New Westminster, BC where he grew up and attended school. Daniel's dream was to become a dancer with the National Ballet of Canada. When he turned 20 years old, he decided to move to Toronto to pursue that dream of becoming a dancer. Once in Toronto, he was hired in a ballet shoe shop where he fixed ballet shoes for dancers. After some time he realized his dream and became a member of the company of the National Ballet of Canada. Over the many years of dancing, Daniel toured North America with the company performing several different productions from coast to coast. One of his greatest memories while dancing was meeting Dusty Springfield and Janis Joplin in person. Both celebrities had requested to meet him personally after watching his performances. As time went on, Daniel later decided to relocate to Winnipeg and become closer to The Royal Winnipeg Ballet. He worked in their costume department and also volunteered for them. Some time later he decided to leave the ballet scene and worked for Unicity Taxi for several years as a dispatcher until his retirement around 2002. Daniel's favourite hobby was knitting. He had about 10 projects on the go at any one time and made some beautiful full zip sweaters for family and his best friends. If he didn't like something about the sweater he would start again. Daniel loved to see Canada by Via Rail. He absolutely loved travelling through the Rocky Mountains and was planning a trip by train to Nova Scotia. Daniel was a very private person but had a few select friends that were very important to him. He loved to talk and share stories of his ballet career and travels across Canada. You will be dearly missed our dear friend. NEVER STOP DANCING... In keeping with Daniel's wishes, cremation has taken place and no service will be held. Donations in Daniel's memory may be given to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba, Suite 200, 6 Donald St., Winnipeg, MB R3L 0K6. Arrangements by: ARNASON FUNERAL HOME Ashern - Lundar 1.204.768.2072 1.866.323.3593

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 13, 2015