Myra Oney's father has passed away; the obituary follows below; our condolences to the family:
Earnest R. Oney
Earnest Ralph Oney passed away peacefully at Calvary
Hospital in the Bronx on May 24, 2014, one week shy of his 94th
birthday.
Born in Wellington Ohio on Memorial Day, May 31st,
1920 he was the eldest of four boys born to Ethel Lucinda (Gadfield) and Ernest
Preston Oney.
Ernie served as a Medic in WW II as part of the 26th
Infantry Yankee Division. With his division, he landed at Utah Beach in
September 1944, saw action at the Battle of the Bulge, and was part of the
forces liberating Gusen Concentration Camp in Czechoslovakia in May 1945. He
was a recipient of the Purple Heart. He also served with the OSS, the Office of
Special Services, as a linguist and decoder.
An avid scholar and linguist, Ernie received his Master’s
degrees from Ashland College and the Sorbonne in Paris, and his PHD in
linguistics from the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in
1950. He was recruited there by Allen
Dulles to join the newly formed Central Intelligence Agency. He spent the next
thirty years as a political analyst on the Middle Eastern desk, with
assignments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. He served two tours in Iran, one as Chief of
Station for the Middle East.
Ernie married Helen Taylor, who he had met when they were
serving as lab technicians at Camp Campbell, KY on January 13th,
1946. She pre-deceased him February 26th,
2013 after 67 years of an adventurous marriage.
Upon retiring, Ernie continued to teach, write and serve as
a congressional advisor on the Middle East. He also continued to pursue his lifelong
interest in HAM radio operation (he had received his radio license at age 10)
as part of the Army Net, connecting service men and women overseas with their
families He and Helen moved to Winchester, VA in 1985, living in their lovingly
restored Civil War era home. There he
served in the Virginia Defense Force as communications specialist, flying on
rescue and drug surveillance missions.
In 1999 they moved to Croton on Hudson, NY to be closer to
family. In his later retirement years,
he continued to write and pursue his interest in genealogy research.
Ernie is survived by his
children Tom (Peggy) of Ozark, MO; Myra Oney (Ned Hatton) of Croton on Hudson,
NY; grandchildren Zachary Oney-Hatton of Croton on Hudson; Megan Hegwood(Chad) of Des Moines, IA; Darby
Krug (Cody) of Pleasant Hill, MO; Kaylin Kirkey (Chris) of Ozark, MO; Molly
Oney of Ozark, Mo., and great grandchildren Peyton and Gauge Hegwood, Julia
Krug and Zedd Kirkey. He is also
survived by several loving nieces and nephews. He has gone to join Helen and his loving brothers and sisters-in-law, Bob (Wilma) Oney,
Chuck (Mary Vivian) Oney and Dick Oney, and his beloved nephew Sean Oney in
this new adventure.
Ernie was a loving father
who dedicated his life in service to his country, and he will be greatly
missed. The family is grateful to the loving and compassionate care of the
doctors, nurses and staff of Calvary Hospital hospice care. He and Helen will be put to rest at Arlington
National Cemetery in a private ceremony at a later date.
