Dottie
This has been a shock to learn that Neal is gone. Neal has been a giver of his time and skill. My family and I met Neal over 15 years ago. We met him though our friend Patricia at one of her many home gatherings. Neal was quite shy when we first met him but such a gentleman. What impressed my family and myself most is that he was with his nephew, Tony Joe, who has cerebral palsy. Tony Joe could barely communicate and Neal kept an ever watchful and very proud eye over this youngster. He wouldn't let him stray far from him. He saw to it that he ate properly, that his food was cut small enough that he wouldn't choke and he'd clean his mouth with a napkin after every few bites. We saw the gleam of of proudness Neal had for Tony Joe - love only sees perfection. We saw Neal again at a few more gatherings and he became less shy and more social. He also had a funny streak and did perfect impersonations of Patricia to where everyone would laugh, including Patricia.Neal was always helping older people. At one of Patricia's gatherings, Neal showed up with his mother. Again, we saw what a family man Neal was. He made sure his mom went. before him in the buffet line, had her seated and situated, made sure she felt comfortable, then proceeded to get himself his plate of food. We sat a few chairs over. Throughout the evening he kept taking if she needed anything, We also learned that Neal offered to fix things for us that needed repairing. We learned that he was a Magician Repairman. He will be sorely missed by many.