Robert Melvin O’Neal

Graveside services for Robert Melvin O’Neal, 85, Lawrence, will be at 11 a.m. Thursday in Oak Hill Cemetery.Mr. O’Neal died Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.He was born Oct. 18, 1923, in Lawrence, the son of Carl and Clare B. Burchett O’Neal. He graduated from Moberly Junior College.Mr. O’Neal served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He worked as a contractor for a painting business that he owned. He was a member of the Eagles Lodge and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping and gardening.Survivors include three sons, Roger, Chapman, Terry and wife Margaret, Lawrence, and Carl, Topeka; a sister, Evelyn Stepina, Topeka; eight grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.He was preceded in death by his parents; a daughter, Linda Diane Webb; and a daughter-in-law, Vicki O’Neal.Friends may call from noon to 9 p.m. today at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, where the family will receive them from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. today.The family suggests memorials to Heart of America Hospice, sent in care of the funeral home.Online condolences may be sent at rumsey-yost.com.