O'Meara, Dr. William
Dr. William Foster O'Meara, DMD, M.S., 92, of Old Lyme, CT, formerly of West Hartford, CT, passed away quietly on October 18, 2021 with his family by his side. Bill was born on September 1, 1929 in Hartford to the late Dr. William Francis O'Meara, DMD and Marguerite (Foster) O'Meara. He graduated from Kingswood School, College of Holy Cross and Tufts University, School of Dental Medicine. He served as a Captain in the US Army Dental Corps from 1955-57 and in the Reserve Army Corps until 1963. He practiced dentistry with his father until leaving Connecticut to matriculate at the University of Iowa, College of Dentistry to specialize in Pediatric Dentistry. After completing his residency, he received his MS degree and remained at the Iowa Dental and Medical Schools as Assistant Professor of Pediatric Dentistry for seven years. He held membership in Omicron Kappa Upsilon and the Society of the Sigma Xi, national dental and scientific honor societies.
In 1967 he returned to Connecticut and opened his dental practice specializing in pediatrics. After several years of solo practice, he, along with Drs. Robert Hall, Eugene Krygowski and Walter Schiller, founded Dental Associates, a multi-specialty group dental practice in Farmington, CT.
His professional appointments included Newington Children's Hospital, attending staff, and UCONN School
of Dental Medicine, clinical instructor in pediatric dentistry. He was a member of the American Dental Association, CT State Dental Association, CT Society of Pediatric Dentists, and the Horace Wells Club of CT. He received an award from the American Dental Association for his work on development of state dentistry infection control standards which became a model for a national standard of care.
After retiring from Dental Associates in 1995, he joined
the staff of the Hill Health Center providing services in the Greater New Haven area. He was especially proud of helping to establish the dental clinic at the
Katherine Brennan School in New Haven.
He was a lifelong volunteer, both personally and professionally. During his years of private practice, he dedicated one day a week to volunteer at Community Health Services in Hartford as a pediatric dentist. He was a long serving Scoutmaster in West Hartford, an active member of the Men's Club of Christ the King Parish and proudly joined the Mystic Seaport Pilot Program's historic restoration of the Amistad. He served as Secretary of the O'Meara Family Scholarship Foundation. He joined the Duck River Garden Club of
Old Lyme and enjoyed growing and caring for hybrid tea roses—especially his favorite yellow roses.
He was an avid long distance runner. He loved supporting the Boston Red Sox, Holy Cross Crusaders and University of Iowa Hawkeyes. He spent many happy
days at Doc's Landing, the family vacation home on Cape Cod, kite flying, burning brush and visiting with his grandchildren. In recent years, he has volunteered at The Holy Family Retreat Center Development Office in Farmington, CT along with his wife, Jan. He dedicated countless hours to ensure the success of their annual Kristofak Golf Tournament.
He is survived by his wife of 9 years, Janice SmegelskiO'Meara. He was predeceased by his wife Deborah Blair Lambert O'Meara, with whom he shared over 48
years of marriage. Their children are: David (Elizabeth) of Marlborough, CT; Richard (Stella) of Vienna, VA; Mary Ellen of Vienna, VA; Barbara Lefkovich (Marc) of Southington, CT; Steven (Karin) of West Hartford, CT; Jane (Wade) Miller of Arlington, VA; Katherine (William) McKersie of Greenwich, CT; and Timothy (Jessica) of Oceanside, NY. He is also survived by his step-children Brenda (Art) Drake of Plymouth,CT; Tracie (Tom) Ortoleva of Old Lyme, CT; and Thomas A. Smegelski, Jr. of Naugatuck, CT.
His 17 grandchildren include: Hope Serebotseng; Kailee O'Meara; Charlotte, William, Ellie and Cody Lefkovich; Caitlin, Brendan, Sean and Erin O'Meara; Alison, Karl, John, Grace and Blair Miller; Riona and Arabella McKersie; plus five step-grandchildren: Liam and Max McKersie; Allison Drake; and Sophia and Ryan Ortoleva; and his great-grandchildren Taylor and Ezra
Serebotseng. He is also survived by his brother, B. Maxwell O'Meara (Dottie) of Simsbury; sister, Margot Egan and sister-in-law Gloria O'Meara of West Hartford. He was predeceased by his brother John F. O'Meara and brother-in-law, Paul F. Egan. His many cousins, nieces and nephews and numerous friends will miss him dearly.
The family would like to thank the Care At Home caregivers for their loving attention to Dad/Doc these past few months, especially Maureen, Yolande and Tammy. The family is also deeply grateful to the Beacon Hospice nurses and aides, especially Cathy, Jackie and Chelsea. Calling hours will take place on Friday, November 5, 2021 at Neilan and Sons Funeral Home, 48 Grand Street in Niantic, CT from 9:30-11:30am, followed by a funeral Mass at Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme, CT at 12:00 noon. Burial will take place at a later date at Duck River Cemetery in Old Lyme at the convenience of the family.
Memorial donations can be made to:
Holy Family Monastery and Retreat Center, 303 Tunxis Road, West Hartford, CT 06107 www.holyfamilyretreat.org
Christ the King Church, 1 McCurdy Road, Old Lyme, CT 06371 www.christthekingchurch.net
O'Meara Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 290157, Wethersfield, CT 06129 www.theomearafoundation.com