Life Story: John O’Neill Lenaghan, 88; Former Rutgers History Professor

John O’Neill Lenaghan died on July 27 in his home in East Millstone where he had lived for over fifty years. He was 88 years old.

John O’Neill Lenaghan was born in Clinton Iowa on December 31, 1931. He received his B.A. from the University of Iowa and his Ph.D. from Princeton in Classical Philology. He served in the US army in Stuttgart from 1953-55. He was a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome where he met his wife Lydia Halle Lenaghan in 1957. From 1961 to 1998, he was a Professor of History at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, dedicating himself not only to his field of Roman History but also to classes in Western Civilization. Mr. Lenaghan enjoyed bicycling, bird watching, gardening, museums, the St. Louis Cardinals, traveling, wine, cooking, and the NY Times.

He was predeceased by his wife Lydia in 2019. He is survived by his children, Patrick, Andrew, Julia, and Matthew and nephew Robert Thomas Lenaghan, III, along with eight grandchildren: Miranda and Ian of Rutherford, Sarah and Charlie of Brooklyn NY, Giovanni of Oxford UK, and Olivia, Nolan, and Alex of Ossining NY.

Please consider a contribution in John O’Neill Lenaghan’s name to the New Jersey Chapter of the Audubon Society at https://njaudubon.org/

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