NORWICH – Former Norwich Resident Elizabeth “Betty” Hesburgh O’Neill, 86, was born Sept. 25, 1920 in Syracuse and died in Winchester, Mass. on Feb. 25, 2007.
Betty was the third of five children of Theodore and Anne Marie (Murphy) Hesburgh. She graduated from Holy Rosary High School in Syracuse and from the College of New Rochelle in suburban NY City, entered the Navy during World War II following officer training school at Smith College. Betty married Robert Dennin O’Neill of Syracuse in 1946. They had six children and settled in Cazenovia. Following years as a grade school teacher, Betty went to Syracuse University to obtain Masters Degrees in Guidance Counseling, Education and Psychology. She would go on to work as a Counselor at Norwich Senior High School for 20 years and served as President of the NY State Guidance Counselors Association. She retired in 1987 and returnied to  Cazenovia were she was active in St.James Church and the local senior center. She centered her life on her children and often traveled throughout the U.S. and to Europe. She was  a gifted singer and avid bridge player.
Betty is survived by her sons, Michael, Patrick and Timothy; and daughters, Maureen and Elizabeth. Her eldest son, Robert Jr., died in 1997. Her brothers, Father Theodore Hesburgh, President Emeritus of the University of Notre Dame and James, also survive her, as do 11 grandchildren in Boston, Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Oxford, England Spring burial will be in St. James Cemetery, Cazenovia.