[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 77 (Thursday, May 30, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ROBERT O'NEAL

                                 ______


                        HON. ANDREW JACOBS, JR.

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 30, 1996

  Mr. JACOBS. Mr. Speaker, Bob O'Neal was one of the best law 
enforcement officers ever in our country.
  It was he who inspired the Indiana's sheriffs merit law which it was 
my privilege to sponsor in the Indiana General Assembly.
  Sheriff O'Neal was also at one time my boss. I worked my way through 
night law school in Indianapolis as a sheriff's police officer during 
Mr. O'Neal's two terms of office.
  Have thrown the mold away, they will not find another officer quite 
to fit the shoes of Bob O'Neal.

 Robert O'Neal, Ex-Chief of Indiana State Police, Former County Sheriff

       Services for Robert Andrew O'Neal, 82. Speedway, retired 
     Indiana State Police superintendent and former Marion County 
     sheriff, will be May 24 at 9:30 a.m. in Conkle Funeral Home, 
     Speedway Chapel, and at 10 a.m. in St. Christopher Catholic 
     Church, of which he was a member.
       Calling will be from 3 to 9 p.m. May 23 in the funeral 
     home.
       Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery.
       He died May 20.
       Mr. O'Neal joined the State Police in 1934. He was 
     appointed superintendent July 1, 1952, becoming the first 
     state police officer to be promoted progressively from the 
     lowest to the highest position in the department.
       In 1954, he was elected Marion County sheriff, a position 
     he held until 1962, when he was appointed a U.S. marshal by 
     President John F. Kennedy.
       Mr. O'Neal was re-appointed superintendent of the State 
     Police in 1965 and served in that position until retiring 
     from the department in 1968.
       He then was appointed police commissioner for the town of 
     Speedway. He was re-appointed in 1980 and 1983.
       He received numerous awards for his law enforcement 
     activities. He received the Good Government Award by the 
     Indianapolis Junior Chamber of Commerce, the State 
     Legislation Citation for outstanding police work, the Liberty 
     Bell Award by the Indiana State Bar Association and Sheriff 
     of the Year Award by Indiana Sheriffs Association.
       Mr. O`Neal served many years as chairman of the 500 Race 
     Traffic Committee after Anton ``Tony'' Hulman bought the 
     Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1946. After an unsuccessful 
     bid to regain the Marion County sheriff's job in 1986, he 
     served as the track's safety director from 1988 until his 
     1994 retirement.
       Among the many positions he held in the Speedway community, 
     Mr. O'Neal had been president of Speedway Lions Club and 
     chairman of the Speedway High School Athletic Fund Committee. 
     He also had been secretary of the Speedway School Building 
     Corp. more than 20 years.
       He was a member of Indianapolis Athletic Club, Knights of 
     Columbus Council 437 and Indiana Sheriffs Association.
       Mr. O'Neal was a graduate of the State Police Training 
     School and FBI Academy.
       Memorial contributions may be made to the Bob O'Neal 
     Memorial Fund, in care of St. Christopher Catholic Church.
       He was the widower of Emma F. Bernhardt O'Neal.
       Survivors: children Robert A. Jr., J. William, John A., 
     Joseph M., Mary Ann O'Neal: eight grandchildren; 11 great-
     grandchildren.

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