Johnston County native Reuben M. O’Neal, known affectionately as “Dupe”, celebrated his 100th birthday with hundreds of family and friends on Sunday afternoon at Hillside High School in Durham.
Many recounted what an honorable man Mr. O’Neal has been throughout his lifetime. Three of ten siblings still survive and his two sisters and children told story’s of his lifetime as a hard working man with many friends.
One speaker said, “This is a good man. I have never heard him raise his voice to anyone, never heard anyone say anything unkind about him.”
Although he has lived in Durham for many years, O’Neal was born in Johnston County near the Flower’s Plantation community where a number of family members still live.
One of his daughters is Superior Court Judge Elaine M. O’Neal Bushman. Photos by John Payne
