James D. O’Neill is a natural storyteller. Born of Scottish and Irish immigrant parents in 1932, growing up in a rundown townhouse in Walkerville, Ontario provides the unlikely backdrop for a colourful life. As a teenager, he hired a ‘decorator’ to help him select wallpaper and paint for his dilapidated childhood bedroom. Thus, began a lifelong flair for interior design.
Living near the tracks at distiller Hiram Walker and Sons exposed him to witnessing whiskey smuggling and other illegal activities. At age sixteen, he had a brush with the RCMP, resulting from a daily cigarette smuggling operation across the Windsor-Detroit border.
His charismatic personality ultimately led him to a successful career as Windsor’s pioneer interior designer. His journey has been highlighted with his marriage to Patricia Bamert and raising six children while creating successful Windsor furniture businesses including O’Neill Bernhardt and James D. O’Neill Ltd.
Jim shares stories of his brief career as a wedding planner, being left for dead on a freeway in Detroit, and reinventing himself during mid-life personal struggles. At age 92, he still feels that he’s loving life.
