Brian O'Neill (September 17, 1941 – May 13, 2009) Rogers 2009 was the superintendent of the

Golden Gate National Recreation Area The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the Unite ...

from 1986 until his death in 2009. He has been described as the most important of the superintendents of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Early life

O'Neill was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on September 17, 1941. He gained an appreciation for the wilderness from his family who would often take him camping when he was young. While in high school O'Neill and his twin brother Alan, along with their mother, founded a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

to take urban children on trips to

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s. O'Neill attended and graduated from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

with a degree in

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

Park related work

O'Neill joined the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on March ...

in 1964. He later joined the Urban Studies Branch of the U.S. Bureau of Outdoor Recreation where he helped plan various parks. In 1973 he moved to

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

after taking a job with the U.S. Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service (HCRS). O'Neill moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1979 as part of his job as the assistant regional director with HCRS. O'Neill was instrumental in making the Phleger Estate and open to the public by insuring federal funding for the purchase of the land.

Work with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area

O'Neill served on the planning commission for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), and it was his presentation at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

President Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

that convinced the President to endorse the concept of a park in San Francisco. In 1981 O'Neill was named assistant superintendent with the GGNRA, and was promoted to superintendent in 1986. As superintendent O'Neill oversaw the completion of the Cavallo Point conference center, as well as the renovation of

The Marine Mammal Center The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC) is a private, non-profit United States, U.S. organization that was established in 1975 for the purpose of rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing marine mammals who are injured, sick or abandoned. It was founded in S ...

. He is credited with making

Alcatraz Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fo ...

a world-class tourist destination, as well as being the driving forced behind getting

Crissy Field Crissy Field is a public recreation area on the northern shore of the San Francisco Peninsula in California, United States, located just east of the Golden Gate Bridge. It includes restored tidal marsh and beaches. Crissy Field is a former Un ...

incorporated into the GGNRA and its later renovation. Under his tenure as superintendent Mori Point was incorporated into the GGNRA. O'Neill work with

Tom Lantos Thomas Peter Lantos (born Tamás Péter Lantos; February 1, 1928 – February 11, 2008) was a Hungarian-born American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from California from 1981 until his deat ...

to purchase Rancho Corral de Tierra and incorporate it into the GGNRA.

Later life

O'Neill had heart valve replacement surgery at the

California Pacific Medical Center Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) is a general medical/surgical and teaching hospital in San Francisco, California. It was created by a merger of some of the city's longest established hospitals and currently operates three ...

. While recovering he developed an infection, and died after suffering a series of

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

s. He is survived by his wife and two adult children.

Footnotes

* Other sources say he was born in 1942, but give no day or month.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

Brian O'Neill, Golden Gate National Recreation Area Superintendent, Dies Following Heart Surgery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Brian 1941 births 2009 deaths Golden Gate National Recreation Area People from Washington, D.C. University of Maryland, College Park alumni