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Ann Elizabeth Schrader O’Neill OBITUARY

Ann Elizabeth Schrader O’Neill was born Feb. 2, 1951, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Jane (nee Schmidt) and Harold J. “Gus” Schrader, a newspaper man whose love of the profession inspired her.

She went on to lead The Denver Post team that won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

She died peacefully April 29 after sustaining heart failure prompted by chemotherapy she had undergone 15 years earlier. She was 75.

Ann specialized in health and science and served as an editor while working at The Post from 1979 to 2012.

She also served as the Post’s Newspaper Guild steward, the commissioner of football pools, and the reporter who reminded newsroom commuters after every snowstorm to “Go before you go.” After retiring, Ann and her husband, Pat, operated the popular Laz E Acres horse boarding stable in Littleton. There, daughter Caitlin became an equestrian who competed in reining.

Ann and Caitlin were tightly bonded and were together in hospice throughout Ann’s weeks-long illness.

Ann and Pat later moved to a 10-acre farm east of Franktown, where she gardened, raised hens, spoiled cats and hoisted 50-pound bales of hay among other chores for the family’s eight horses.

She graduated from the University of Iowa, where she studied English literature and journalism. She went on to work at the Cedar Rapids Gazette before coming to The Post.

She is survived by her loving husband, Francis Patrick O’Neill; her daughter, Caitlin O’Neill, and her husband, Jess Nelson; her sister, Melissa McGuire (Mike McGuire); her stepson, John O’Neill (Raquel O’Neill), and stepdaughters Jane Irigoyen (Marcelo Irigoyen) and Mary Eident (Derrick Eident). She is also survived by grandchildren Jake O’Neill, Kelsey Huwa (Anthony Huwa), Kylie O’Neill, MacKenzie Rasvey (Matt Rasvey), Cyrus Anaya, Ryne Skiles and Lucy Irigoyen; and her great-grandchildren, Adeline Rasvey, Aria Rasvey and Emberly Huwa.

She was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Steven C. Schrader.