Larry and I are both so sorry that Don is no longer here.  We will  miss his presence at all the gatherings at the Moffitt house! I wish I could visit with him one more time!  I think it is always this way, we would always like that one more time to talk and enjoy someones company.
This will be a reminder to me to take advantage of the time I have with the people I love.  
Our love goes out to all the family at this time of sorrow.  
Teresa White and Larry Reid

Dad Was


Dad was a military man.
Dad was a well dressed military manstarched khakis with razor sharp creases applied lovingly by mom.
Lace up black spit shined combat boots.
I wore those boots as a toddler.  Where's that picture?
We lived on post, not on base, bases are for the air force.  We had I.D. cards. Better not lose that!  They started out hard but turned soft and flimsy by the time we left Fort Hood. 
Dad was a car man too.  Here's some history on dad's preferences.  I used to quiz him on the cars that he had bought over the decades.
Our car had a sticker. Your car had to have a sticker to get on post.  Ours was yellow because dad was an NCO.
Our 1954 Dodge Coronet, Betsy, had a sticker too.  It was the only car we ever named.  We lived at Fort Wuachuca in Arizona.  I think we were barely scraping by.  I didn't care I was too busy pooping in my pants. Dad called me smelly.  He called me slim and skinny too.  He could see the future.  Hum.    
Dad loved a new car.  He had lots of cars.  Yea! 
Medium blue1962 Ford Galaxie 500 wagon.  We camped across country in that thing.  I was devoured by mosquitoes.  A !965 Ford Galaxie 500 XL convertible (the best car we ever ownedblack, white top and red bucket seats from Kimnach Ford in Virginia Beach) A 1967 Dodge Polara that Mark drove when dad went to Vietnam.  Damn thing didn't have A/C! Come on dad it's Texas!  Don't know where we bought that thing.  A beautiful 1970 navy blue Ford LTD Broughamspecial order from Fergus Ford in Killeen. We waited months for that car. First car we owned with power windows. It was a lemon. AM/FM stereo was a big thing.  Mom loved washing that LTD though.  She mowed the lawn too.  Pulling her weight.  A 1972 gold/brown vinyl top Dodge Monaco Brougham...300 horses and a rim blow horn.  First car I ever drove. Dad didn' t know. When dad went to Saint Edwards to get a college degree he bought a 1974 green Hornet (no kidding) to economize. I literally cried.  Upon graduation dad rewarded mom and me with a 1977 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham from Jay Smith in Austin (Whole Foods flagship and world headquarters sits where Jay Smith used to be).  It was spinnaker white with a brown vinyl top sporting Chrysler's "water fall grill. The fanciest car dad ever owned. It had brown loose pillow tufted leather seats and lavaliere straps.  The car must have embarrassed dad because he barked at me one time when I picked him up from work at the V.A.  I would wait for him right up front so everyone could see me driving a New Yorker.  You know I never really cared for NYC. I did care if people saw me driving a New Yorker.  I still would.  Up in my Chrysler it's as big as whale and it's about to set sail. I got me a car it seats about 20.   Damn, right when we could sort of afford an Imperial Le Baron, the truly fanciest Chrysler, just ask Mr. Dreisdale from the Beverly Hillbillies, they didn't make it anymore.  Dad would have bought mom and me an Imperial. He was like that. In the late 70ies there was a gas embargo and gas prices went up, so dad bought a 1978 orange, fake wood paneled Plymouth Volare.  Ugh.  He did get the nice wheels though.  Our address was Needles Place in Fairfax county Virginia.  Next came an Eddie Bauer edition Ford Aerostar mini van.  Dad and mom lived in Onion Creek in Austin then. One day, back in San Antonio after Bergstrom Air Force base closed in Austin, dad decided to buy a Texas size truck or SUV.  It was the height of Texas chic in the 80ies to own a Jeep Grand Wagoneer.  It was gray with maroon leather and cloth. You had to get a step stool to clean the roof. It was the biggest vehicle dad ever owned. I still remember seeing mom bouncing up and down in the back seat through my rear view mirror as we made our way to somewhere on a vacation.  The short wheelbase made for a bouncy ride.  I caught her eye in the rear view mirror one time and I laughed.  She said, What?  "You're bouncing!" We laughed together.  Dad was sleeping.  If he wasn't driving he was sleeping in the car.  Dad sold the Grand Wagoneer to someone in South America for what he paid for it new.  Bingo!
Next was a 1988 Chrysler Town and Country wagon with the Mark Cross leather option.  It was burgundy over burgundy and fully loaded.  It sported the Chrysler water fall grill too with a hood ornament in a pentastar design made of crystal.  Nice!  In 1994 Dad bought a metallic taupe Toyota Camry V6 XLE.  It was a very nice car.  Adrienne and Steve bought that car from dad and they claim it saved their lives and the lives of Tami, Shana and Stevie when they flipped it on a hi way.  I think someone was pulled out from the sunroof!  That may be a fish tale at this point though.  Adrienne has bought Toyotas ever since.
Seems like when you reach a certain age you have to buy a Mercury Grand Marquise, so in 1991 dad did. And in 1994 he did it again. 
You can no longer buy a Mercury Grand Marquis.  Yea. Next came the first of three Lincolns.  Dad could never bring himself to buy a Lincoln Continental. We test drove one from Roy Butler Lincoln/Mercury in Austin, before he bought the 77 New Yorker.  It was truly a land yacht.  It was Wedgwood blue with matching crushed, loose pillow, velour upholstery.  70ies Fab!  Dad's first Lincoln was actually an SUV called Aviator.  It was white with red leather.  A very nice SUV but it almost killed him.  It was from North Park Lincoln in San Antonio and they had valet service for maintenance. One day they returned dad's SUV and evidently applied the parking brake so forcefully that punching the pedal with your foot would not release the brake.  Well, dad forgot that the car was in drive, got out to use his upper body strength to try and release the brake. Which he did but the car was still in drive, so it rolled backwards out of the garage with dad stuck between the open door and the car.  Luckily dad grabbed the steering wheel which sent the car into the neighbor's garage door and threw dad over into the other neighbor's patio pretty much unscathed. Very lucky.  The Lincolns were interrupted briefly by a couple of Pontiacs. What?! Yep a mini van called Montana and then believe it or not a four door Pontiac Grand Prix fully turbo charged with way too much horsepower and a harsh ride.  Dad wrote a fat check, I was there, to get out from under that car. He bought a Lincoln LS for mom.  He always would refer to the LS as the car he bought for mom.  He bought two LS Lincolns for mom.  Dad kept the Lincolns for most of the decade from 2000 to 2009 when he bought a loaded Mazda CX-7 SUV.  One day he woke up and thought the CX-7 was too big, so he decided that he wanted a smaller SUV.  I still want to be high up, so I can see.  That's when he bought a Kia Sportage EX in black cherry.  
It was his last car.  From the late 50ties through 2015 dad owned 22 cars.  I don't know if that's more than the average but I think it is.
Dad was a military man and a car man.  He really liked a new car but more than that he always wanted to please mom and me too.
I will miss car time with dad.  I have dibs on that Kia! Almost three years old with 6500 miles on it.  Cream puff.
Thanks again dad.

Thinking of you as you are experiencing the loss of your dad. It's so hard to lose that parent, and realize now it is you and your family that are the older ones. We love you and our thoughts and prayers will be with all your family! Jerry and Bonnie Walden.

As "extended" family members of the McNeal clan, we have known Don a long time, so there are many memories.

Dave always enjoyed their conversations about Don's extensive military career, one of the select few to have been a part of WWII, Korean, and Vietnam Wars.

I still fondly remember the time Don and Gloria came to South Padre Island and we had a huge bonfire on the beach at the sand dunes.  It was a new experience for them!

You were a good man Don McNeal.  Rest in Peace.

Don and Gloria McNeal have been good friends to our family since they stood as Godparents to our first child Kate in Ft. Hood TX 45 yrs. ago when Don was my husband Ed's Top Sergeant.  We always looked forward to our phone calls, cards, and visits over the years, and all the laughs and good times with Adie, Steve, Michael and all the family.  "Top" was always our cheerful, mischievous Irish elf, and Gloria was always a wise woman, great cook, and compassionate friend.  Tho Gloria's been gone for some years, we still looked forward to visiting w Top and family - in fact we were just with them all a year ago in Austin, sharing, laughing, eating and being shown around Top's beautiful apartment.  It's hard to believe we won't be able to pick up the phone and call him anymore, but are so grateful for all the years of love and friendship.  May God bless the whole McNeal family!  All our love, Nan, Ed, Kate, Bonnie & Sean Burke. (Bloomfield MI)

I wish to convey to everyone in the McNeal family how sorry I am to hear of Mr. McNeal's passing.
  
In the years I have known Don "Granddad" McNeal, he and his wife Gloria Faye both found a place in my heart because they were both so kind and welcoming  and that's because they were genuinely good people.  When he came to our area in Washington, DC, or in visiting him in Texasor even during the difficult days as we said goodbye to his son Timhis natural charm, his Irish wit, and his quiet strength made Don a person you wanted to be around.  More than a person, he was a whole kind of person I wish we had more of in our world. 

I wish you all could have seen the day he came to our nation's capital as part of an honor flight from Austin. In a time when we are living in so much cynicism and disillusionment, strangersboth young and oldwould come up and respectfully wait for their chance to meet Don and tell him how much his life meant to them.  This person that they had never met before touched their lives deeply, and in return, they wanted to touch him for a moment in a handshake or hug or conversation of sincere thanks.  It was a rare sight to see how much one person can impact so many.  In each of their eyes this humble everyday man was a living hero who had played a part to literally saved the world from unspeakable evil in World War II and then went on to continue serving our country through the Korean and Vietnam War.  

He could make me smile with his smile, make me laugh with a subtle expression, comfort with simple words of wisdom forged over a lifetime of experience, and he made me feel valued because he treated me as if I was family even though he wasn't obliged to.  

I count myself lucky to have known him, and better for it.  If I feel his loss, I can only guess atand imagine how difficulthis loss is for his children, grandchildren, family and friends who knew him so much better, so much longer, and loved him so much more deeply. 

You are all in my thoughts  Duncan Neasham

With our love to your precious family, which has now become ours also, we send sympathy to the entire Moffitt, McNeal family in the loss of your dad! May God bless you and give you peace during this stressful time! To all, we say love and so glad to be a part of such a wonderful family! With Christian love from Jerry and Bonnie Walden.

Don was my father-in-law and his son Tim and myself didn't get to see him very often but we talked to him on the phone.  When we visited, I always made a point of taking him to his favorite eatery, Morrisons Cafeteria because he said noone really like to go there that often, so off we went while Tim stayed behind and talked with his mom.  hat was the one thing he and I always did.  Another was Wendy's he loved their hamburgers.  Tim and I also always took him to Dairy Queen for ice cream also a favorite food.  The last time I saw him was when his son ,my husband Tim was dying and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said kids aren't ..suppossed to go before their parents.  All I could do was choke up and say I know.  When we visited him in Austin he and Tim would always have their private time out on the patio  drinking coffee and he would smoke his pipe.  They both had a love for fishing  Don was a true hero for his country and I am glad he had the chance to be with the honor guard and that gave him the time to visit with my son Tommy  who took him to ArlingtonCemetary where he got to see Tim's vault.  When he visited Tim and I last he went to an Irish Pub with Tommy, Duncan and myself and ordered a pot pie.  His eyes popped out of his head when the huge pie was placed in front of him and he realized it was all for him.  We had just come from an emotional tour of all the war memorials of which he served in all three.  Tim and I also took him to see Tommy performing in CATS and afterwards he was thrilled to be in a picture with 2 of the sexy cats.  He loved that.  I will miss him ,he has been my only father figure as my dad passed away over 20 years ago.  Don livedc a good life and is now at peace visiting his wife Gloria and Tim  R.I.P   love you

We think of you all as you celebrate Don's life.  What a wonderful patriarch for your family demonstrating the values and ethics of the Greatest Generation.  His unselfish service to his country is so appreciated and we are glad he was recently honored while attending the World War II Memorial.  Love you!

Such an amazing legacy to carry forward,
thoughts and prayers to each family member, His memory will live on with each one of you,  Adrienne,  you have made so many memories with/for him,  that will live on many years,
hugs to all,   and when you miss him,  just look for the brightest star, he will be smiling on each one ,  Love to all

OBITUARY

Donald James McNeal

May 13, 1925 – February 20, 2015

Cook-Walden Funeral Home

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