Katie O’Neil, 89, a Chicago options trader and an Evanston-based artist whose work is displayed in galleries and private collections in South America and Europe, died Saturday, Jan. 27, in the Hospice of the North Shore in Skokie. Mrs. O’Neil, who was born in Lock Haven, Pa., began her career as a secretary for a Wall Street financial firm. When her husband, John Tettemer O’Neil, joined the faculty at Northwestern University in 1956, the couple moved to Evanston, and Mrs. O’Neil began studying art at the Evanston Art Center. In 1963 she became president of the art center, and in 1966 she helped secure the historic Clarke Tudor mansion on Lake Michigan as the center’s new home. On July 16, 1999, Evanston Mayor Lorraine Morton recognized Mrs. O’Neil’s contribution to the Evanston art community by declaring it “Katie O’Neil Day.” Mrs. O’Neil was heavily influenced by Picasso, and the subject of her paintings often were female nudes. “Her work for years was sold through the Art Institute when they had a gallery,” said her longtime friend, Anna Idol. Mrs. O’Neil was an options trader with the Chicago Board Options Exchange and continued trading until two weeks before her death. Mrs. O’Neil is survived by a son, John Jr.; two daughters, Barbara Newsom O’Neil and Katherine Ennis O’Neil; and a sister, Jeanne Prospero.
