Obituary of Jean S. Neal

Jean Smith Neal, 90, passed away peacefully in her home in New Brighton, Minnesota on November 13, 2016. Funeral service will be held at Carlson Lillemoen Funeral Home, Cambridge, MN on November 22, 2016 with reviewal at 1pm, service at 2pm, followed by a light meal. Arrangements are pending for a family graveside committal at Highland Cemetery, Hamilton, Missouri. Jean was born on September 10, 1926 in Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina to Ira E. Smith, Sr. and Una Belle Smith. She went to high school at Glen Alpine High School and graduated in 1943. Jean met her husband in 1945, in Asheville, NC where she was Secretary to his commanding officer in the Army Air Force. She worked for the Veterans Administration while he finished two years of college at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. All three of the couples’ children were born in Aurora, MO where the couple lived and Jeff taught and coached football at Aurora High School. Her husband’s career in life insurance took them to Topeka and Wichita, KS; Richfield and Edina, MN; and Dallas and Galveston, TX. Jean held numerous Executive Secretarial positions and was Faculty Records Administrator and Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School until she retired in 1990. Jean and Jeff built their retirement home in Springfield, MO -- very close to their beginnings as a family in nearby Aurora, MO. Jean returned to Minnesota in 2008 to be close to family. After years of active church membership in numerous congregations, Jean transferred her church membership back to her first church home -- First Baptist Church, Morganton, NC. Through the years, Jean was an active volunteer with numerous organization including: Cub, Brownie and Girl Scout Leaders; Pink Lady at St. Mary’s Hospital, Galveston, TX; American Cancer Society, “Reach for Recovery” Program, Ronald McDonald House, Springfield, MO; United Methodist Women and various Church Auxiliaries. She was a lifelong learner and volunteer. Jean is survived by her three children, Don Neal and wife Lindarose of Minneapolis, MN; Carol Neal of Edina, Minnesota; and Patricia Neal and husband John Jeskevicius of Weare, NH; and her two grandchildren, Graham Neal, and Thea and husband Dan Nealschneider of Portland, OR. Also survived by two sisters, Edith Renfroe, Una Christine and husband Bill Reep, and sisters-in-law Alice Smith and Dorothy “Dot” Neal, along with many wonderful nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband, James Bernard “Jeff” Neal; her parents; sister Lois S. Hinceman; and brother Ira E. Smith, Jr. The family wishes to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Deb Thompson, Jean’s personal care giver of 7+ years, as well as the care givers of LifeSp*rk, Our Lady of Peace and Allina Home Hospice. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to your local Ronald McDonald House, or your favorite volunteer organization. The following was written in 2007 when Jean and her life-long friend Sadie Cuthbertson arranged a “long distance” high school class reunion. What I have learned along life’s road — THE EARLY YEARS — We grew up during the Depression, which taught us how to save, share, cook and can, and make the best of what we had. We learned to sew at an early age, and made all our clothes – sometimes using recycled flour sacks. My Dad moved our family to the “country” when I was ten years old, where we had well water, outdoor “john”, and we heated the house with firewood. I never used a telephone until I was in high school. We went through wartime gas rationing, planted victory gardens, and had coupons for two pairs of shoes a year. Once, I donated an old iron bathtub to the high school scrap iron drive – put it in the back Emergency door of the school bus – I won first prize for total pounds. Fifth grade brought me to Glen Alpine – Miss Bruton’s class, where Sadie and I became good friends. Our high school experience brought wartime blackouts during basketball games. We went to school 8 months a year, and twelfth grade was optional at the time. At GAHS , I loved typing and shorthand (taught by Lessie Higgins), which helped me in many job opportunities along the way. I had had only one year of shorthand, but one of my first assignments in the Air Force was to take a verbatim court-martial (Cpl. Hiscutt was charged – he had hit a soldier with his billy club, and the soldier died.) I took the entire court-martial with my “year one shorthand”, (which only I could read!) My spelling skills took me to Winston Salem with Teacher Lula D. Sandlin, to the NC State Spelling Bee. (My first train ride.) Spelling really helped me type term papers, especially when Jeff returned to college. MOVING IS EDUCATIONAL — I learned how to make new friends as we moved many times. I lived in l6 homes in 11 cities, in 6 different states. I still correspond with friends of the past. Raising a family was fun (most of the time). It involved Brownie and Girl Scouts - Cub Scouts, and a lot of volunteer work. …I’m a 38 year cancer survivor, and gave back 20 years of “Reach to Recovery” volunteer work for the American Cancer Society. In this age of computers, I still love letter writing – and taught “long-distance cursive writing” to my two grandchildren who were “home schooled” by their parents for 12 years in Minnesota. I love cats, and have had many throughout the years. When I was 78 years old, a “mother-to-be” cat adopted me, and promptly delivered two kittens, in a banana box in my dining room. It was my first experience with kitty-birthing. I still have them – almost 3 years old now, – one longhaired Muffie, and one shorthaired yellow tiger named Bert, who keep me company in Springfield. Written by Jean Neal 03/01/2007