Ongie, Ethel Alice Sweaney

Ethel Alice Sweaney Ongie, 101, of Delhi, passed away peacefully on Nov. 3, 2012, at the Good Neighbor Home, Manchester.

Ethel was born Oct. 16, 1911, in Delhi, Iowa, the daughter of William and Hattie (Richie) Sweaney. She graduated from Delhi Consolidated High School in 1930. She worked at various jobs around Delhi and Dubuque before moving to Arizona, New York, and then New Jersey, where she worked at the Morris County Youth Center for 25 years. In 1976, Ethel retired and moved back home to Delhi, where she spent many happy years living next to her brother, Ralph, and his wife, Izetta.

Ethel had a long series of animals that she dearly loved and she always made them wonderful homes. Her one surviving cat, Tinker, has a loving home with Florence Miller, who adopted her when Ethel moved to the Good Neighbor Home.

Ethel was very talented and could do anything. She was known for the beautiful afghans she created as well as the delicious meals and especially pies. She was still crocheting potholders on her 101st birthday.

Ethel Ongie was a very spirited woman and spoke her mind often using a very colorful vocabulary. She cherished her time with her family, friends and animals.

Survivors include her two nephews (the loves of her life) and their wives, Dennis (Jane) Sweaney and David (Anne) Sweaney, both of Athens, Ga.; four grandnieces and grandnephews, Kirsten Evans (Adam), Rogers, Ark., Sean (Joy) Sweaney, Nashville, Tenn., and Heather and Christopher Sweaney, Athens, Ga.; three great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews, Sophie and Max Evans and Adelaide Sweaney; her dear friend, Karen Mayer; and her loving cat, Tinker.

Ethel was preceded in death by her parents, William and Hattie Sweaney; two husbands, Alfred Frances “Red” Lighthart and William Ongie, who died in 1964; four siblings, Ralph “Hap,” Ruby, Kenneth and Lynn; as well as many friends.

Online condolences may be sent to .

Funeral Services: 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, at Leonard-Muller Funeral Home in Manchester, with the Rev. Mary Green officiating. Visitation: 10 until 11 a.m. service time on Tuesday. Private graveside services: Evergreen Cemetery, Delhi.

Published Nov. 4, 2012 in The Gazette