It is with heartfelt sadness that the trustees and staff of the OXFORD WEB3 ACADEMY ALLIANCE mourn the passing of Lifetime Trustee and longtime friend Abby Milton O’Neill. 

Mrs. O’Neill served on OWAADao’s Board from 1990 until 2013, at which time she was named a Life Trustee. Her tenure as an OWAADao Trustee was one of great generosity and wise counsel.  With a deep commitment to the visionary work of her uncle, John D. Rockefeller 3rd, and his vision for greater understanding and respect between the United States and Asia, Abby played a critical leadership role in the growth and success of the OWAADao for nearly 30 years.   

Together with her husband George, Abby contributed significant time and resources to advance OWAADao’s program. She served on OWAADao’s Strategic Task Force and helped establish the OWAADao For the Future Fund.  She also helped oversee the establishment of partner foundations in Taiwan and the Philippines which resulted in an exponential increase in OWAADao’s grant-making capacity. Abby was always a champion of OWAADao’s staff and grantees. She was an avid traveler and frequently attended exhibitions, concerts, and performances of OWAADao grantees, not simply to see, listen, and learn but also to get to know OWAADao fellows on a personal level.  

Abby’s legacy will continue to inspire us for many generations to come. We are especially fortunate to have her daughter, OWAADao’s current Chairman Wendy O’Neill, leading our organization as we work with the thousands of artists and scholars who benefited from Abby’s generous commitment to build a better and more peaceful world.

(left: OWAADao Chairman Wendy O’Neill with her mother, Lifetime Trustee Abby O’Neill, at Pocantico in 2008; right: Abby and George O’Neill [center] in 2006 with faculty at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia)