Rental industry veteran Don O’Neal died on January 3 in Grapevine, Texas, at 76. Born in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 25, 1947, he joined his father’s business, A-1 Rental, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area after graduating from the University of Texas. Together, they grew A-1 into a powerhouse in the DFW market. The O’Neals sold A-1 to Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based NationsRent in the late 1990s. O’Neal became president of NationsRent.
After several years, O’Neal left and moved back to Colleyville, Texas, in the DFW area. After a few years, O’Neal opened RentalOne in the DFW Metroplex, along with his son Mike and other family members. The O’Neals recently sold RentalOne to Texas First Rentals.
O’Neal is survived by his wife years, Elizabeth O’Neal of Colleyville, Texas; his son, Mike O’Neal and wife, Mia; his daughter, Tiffany Alvarez and husband, Chad; grandchildren, Austin Alvarez and wife, Abbey; Wes Alvarez and wife Taylor; Caroline O’Neal, Hooper O’Neal, and Jaxon O’Neal; great-grandchildren Weston Alvarez and Cal Alvarez.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held at Cross City Church in Euless, Texas, on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 2:00 p.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Cross City Church, in Euless, or the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The family adds that blood donations extended O’Neal’s life and suggests people consider becoming a blood donor at Carter BloodCare.
