Tim O'Meilia, Post reporter who captured county's quirks (PBP) 1-13-14Publication: Palm Beach Post; Date: Jan 13, 2014; Section: Local; Page: 5B
TIM O'MEILIA 1948 -2014
Tim O'Meilia, Post reporter
who captured county's quirks
By Sonja Isger
Palm Beach Post StaffWriter
PALM BEACH GARDENS --
In thousands of stories
over the span of five de-
cades, Tim O'Meilia re-
vealed Palm Beach Coun-
ty in all of its quirky and
endearing details.
He unveiled everything
from the mating habits of
alligators to the elements
of bridge construction —
not to mention the ori-
gins of at least one pig in
a parade.
O'Meilia was a soft -spo-
ken man who began his
career at The Palm Beach
Post in 1972, telling sto-
ries often with a wink —
seldom a roar.
"Every story Tim
touched was magical,"
Post Publisher Tim Burke
said. "He never had an
off -day. For decades his
beautiful words, every
one of them chosen care-
fully, told the stories of
our communities."
That magic died late
Saturday after a sec-
ond battle with cancer.
O'Meilia was 65. His fami-
ly was working on funeral
arrangements Sunday.
The son of a building
engineer, O'Meilia was
born in Texas and quick-
ly transplanted in South
Florida. His father be-
came a councilman in
North Palm Beach.
O'Meilia met his wife
on the local softball fields
— he was the home -for-
the -break college coach,
Debbie on a team with his
younger sisters.
After graduating from
Notre Dame, he came
home and walked into
the Post newsroom.
"I needed a job," he
said recently.
In the years to follow,
O'Meilia quickly demon-
strated a knack for mak-
ing a comet's passing in-
teresting and the annual
arrival of turkey vultures
worth pausing over in the
morning print — even the
sixth time.
How often, after all,
does one read about vul-
tures "whose idea of a
sumptuous meal is de-
caying road kill" staking
"their seasonal claim to
some prime island prop-
erty: the lush, green bird
sanctuary across the road
from Mar- a- Lago ?"
Though they went
down easy, every word
was considered — so
much so, he said he
sweated talking to a class
of fourth-graders about
writing. He feared his ad-
vice was of little help for
kids preparing for the
timed precision of state-
wide exams.
"What do you do when
you get stuck? Write. Get
coffee. Come back lat-
er and write it again,"
O'Meilia recalled of his
unedited thoughts.
We had better gov-
ernment, we had bet-
ter crime reporters, but
I never knew a better
pure writer — someone
who could catch an Irish
lilt and give you all the
when and wheres and
history you'd want in 15
inches," said Paul Blythe,
his co- worker for many
years and his boss for a
few. His favorite passage?
A 1985 ode to a St. Pat-
rick's Day parade:
GUESTBOOK
Shareyour
condolences
PalmBeachPost.
com/obits
It was only a wee bit
of a pig and a wee bit of
an idea, butMauryPow-
er is only a wee bit of a sa-
loon- keeper, even wearin'
his top hat.
And oI' Blue now was a
horse of a different color.
Green, he was. And more
handsome than a squeaI-
ing pig just beggin'to be
bacon."
Silvered from age,
thinned from illness
but still enamored with
words, O'Meilia had a
tougher time picking fa-
vorites.
"I like everything,"
O'Meilia said. "I loved
profiles. The story on the
cafeteria manager at the
Riviera Beach elemen-
tary school. The lady at
The Breakers who had a
hair - cutting concession.
Those were fun stories
about real people in real
places."
As for memorable pas-
sages, one popped to
mind: "Why are the ga-
tors crossing the road?
They're looking for love
in all the wet places." His
recollection ended there,
but the story charged on:
"Just think of each road-
side canal as a singles bar
for alligators."
O'Meilia often was
tapped for bigger or more
serious assignments
as well. Hurricanes. A
pope's visit. A dispatch
from teacher- astronaut
Christa McAuliffe's home-
town after the shuttle
Challenger exploded.
As important as Writing
was, his family got equal
play. He and Debbie
timed their wedding be-
tween the national fast -
pitch and slow -pitch play-
offs. Anniversaries
were wedged between
sporting events and
news. Their sons — Roi-
ly and Casey, now grown
— had their lives woven
with Hurricane Andrew
coverage, local circus pa-
rades and the like.
Even when O'Meilia re-
tired in 2008, he con-
tinued to cover Palm
Beach County, writing
about coastal communi-
ties for The Coastal Star,
a monthly paper based in
Ocean Ridge.
"I've had a front -page
story in four different de-
cades," he said with satis-
faction. The biggest boast
he could muster came
more as an aside. He'd
come across a few of his
clips in retirement and
caught himself thinking,
"Man, I used to do pretty
well. I used to be better
than I thought."
He was much better
than even that.
sisger @pbpost.com
Twitter: @sonjaisger
Tim
T`'`
O'Mellla
;1 +, P
began his
career at
The Post In
Y ' -:,k
1912.
GUESTBOOK
Shareyour
condolences
PalmBeachPost.
com/obits
It was only a wee bit
of a pig and a wee bit of
an idea, butMauryPow-
er is only a wee bit of a sa-
loon- keeper, even wearin'
his top hat.
And oI' Blue now was a
horse of a different color.
Green, he was. And more
handsome than a squeaI-
ing pig just beggin'to be
bacon."
Silvered from age,
thinned from illness
but still enamored with
words, O'Meilia had a
tougher time picking fa-
vorites.
"I like everything,"
O'Meilia said. "I loved
profiles. The story on the
cafeteria manager at the
Riviera Beach elemen-
tary school. The lady at
The Breakers who had a
hair - cutting concession.
Those were fun stories
about real people in real
places."
As for memorable pas-
sages, one popped to
mind: "Why are the ga-
tors crossing the road?
They're looking for love
in all the wet places." His
recollection ended there,
but the story charged on:
"Just think of each road-
side canal as a singles bar
for alligators."
O'Meilia often was
tapped for bigger or more
serious assignments
as well. Hurricanes. A
pope's visit. A dispatch
from teacher- astronaut
Christa McAuliffe's home-
town after the shuttle
Challenger exploded.
As important as Writing
was, his family got equal
play. He and Debbie
timed their wedding be-
tween the national fast -
pitch and slow -pitch play-
offs. Anniversaries
were wedged between
sporting events and
news. Their sons — Roi-
ly and Casey, now grown
— had their lives woven
with Hurricane Andrew
coverage, local circus pa-
rades and the like.
Even when O'Meilia re-
tired in 2008, he con-
tinued to cover Palm
Beach County, writing
about coastal communi-
ties for The Coastal Star,
a monthly paper based in
Ocean Ridge.
"I've had a front -page
story in four different de-
cades," he said with satis-
faction. The biggest boast
he could muster came
more as an aside. He'd
come across a few of his
clips in retirement and
caught himself thinking,
"Man, I used to do pretty
well. I used to be better
than I thought."
He was much better
than even that.
sisger @pbpost.com
Twitter: @sonjaisger