Ex-Connecticut Gov. O'Neill dead at 77

EAST HAMPTON, Conn., Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Former Connecticut Gov. William Atchison O'Neill has died at the age of 77.

O'Neill, who suffered from emphysema, died Saturday at his home in East Hampton, Conn., The New York Times reported Sunday. O'Neill, the son of a tavern owner, rose through Democratic state politics to serve as governor for a decade.

"Bill O'Neill was one of the titans of Connecticut politics," current Gov. M. Jodi Rell said in a statement, calling O'Neill a fair and decent man who understood government must take its lead from the people it serves.

O'Neill rose from lieutenant governor to the state's top job when Gov. Ella T. Grasso resigned because of cancer Dec. 31, 1980, and died five weeks later.

O'Neill was raised in East Hampton and studied at New Britain Teacher's College, now Central Connecticut University. He worked for Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, studied drafting, sold life insurance and was a tail gunner in the Air Force during the Korean War, the Times reported.

O'Neill is survived by his wife Natalie. The couple had no children.