Dad becomes an Angel

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God welcomed one of his Angel’s into his graces on 4/21/16. My beloved, wonderful and terrific father, Floyd Neal, went to the Lord and be in Heaven with his brothers (Jewell, Gene and Carl). parents and son (Robert). This grand reunion is something I’m sure Dad greatly enjoyed, and I’m so happy for him (and a bit jealous actually). Brandee and I recently had the awesome pleasure to celebrate his 93rd birthday together at his home on April 13th, 2016. While I’m certainly missing his physical-presence, I am SO glad to know that he is out of misery and now in the presence of decent people. Dad is a decent person, with serious positive influence, on many people whom he met in his 93 terrific years and being a Decent person.

 

Floyd Neal’s family

 

familyDad had four sons. Mike, myself, John and Robert. He was such a perfect father and always provided each one of us with the support to do whatever it is that we choose to do with our lives. Dad always provided the soundest advice, whether you wanted to hear it or not; he spoke from experience. We have created a website to share his legacy, and hopefully inspire others, at FloydNeal.com. I encourage you to be make some comment on his guestbook page.

 

 

Dad’s Celebration of Life

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Dad’s Celebration of Life was held on Saturday, May 21st, 2016 in Woodland, California. Brandee prepared an absolutely beautiful self-running PowerPoint presentation which chronicled Dad’s entire life. It included photos and stories when Dad was a young child, through his business career and, of course, much of his family life. It was gorgeous and people really enjoyed the presentation. I would like to share with you below so you can enjoy for yourself:

 

Also, I provided a talk on my Dad’s Legacy with some supporting slides. My talk obviously had a narrative so let me please briefly explain the contexts that might be lost if you are viewing only the presentation. Dad loved crossword puzzles. Therefore, I had my talk in the theme of a crossword puzzle where I provided a brief story for each letter in his name F L O Y D N E A L.

 

Bella terrorizes, Jack trembles
bellaBella, our 13-year old orange tabby cat, for whatever reason has decided to take her reign-of-terror within the house to a new level. She’s always been the strong personality-type but her recent activities are border-line assault. Our poor black Labrador retriever, Jack, has been a near constant target for Bella for nearly the past year. We honestly think that it’s Feline Dementia.

 

There is no cure other than to be patient and understanding with her aggression. We will give her even extra loving and protect Jack as much as we can. She is in no obvious pain but her personality certainly has changed over the past year.

 

jackJack, our 8-year old Lab, continues to be Jack. He loves to go for walks. He loves to ride in the car. He enjoys cuddling with Mommy and Daddy. He is very patient with his sister. He likes to fart a lot too. Brandee fed him some nori (a.k.a. seaweed) the other day and he farted something awful for 3 days! Never again!

 

As much as I like to make fun of Jack’s awkwardness, the truth is that he is very special to Brandee and myself. He might look big and vicious but he has a really genuine spirit that is so loving. Jack is such a kind fellow to young children especially. He has an uncanny ability to take great care and is very protective of children.

 

A comfortable ride
carLittle did we realize it at the time but the car that Brandee and I purchased in late 2014 would provide immediate benefits. Unfortunately, Dad first got seriously sick in January 2015 and after that time we made many 360-mile round-trips, which we were glad to do of course, but I could not have imagined the misery traveling these miles in one of our older vehicles.

 

Dad was always curious to ask about the car. “How’s the car running?”, he would ask. “How’s the car treating you?”, he would inquire. Dad is that type of person that is always interested in others activities instead of himself.

 

Brandee’s support
Brandee and Kevin at John's weddingWhen major life-changing events happen, there isn’t much to do other than be supportive and work thru them and it’s great to do it as a team. Brandee is my teammate. She is not a cuddly, huggy-type person; and that’s something I most admire about her. She is, however, a great listener and highly sympathetic.

 

Brandee has been an amazing supporter through these days and I can’t be more appreciative. In spite of a lot of challenges, she is typically reasonable and a great person to discuss difficult topics with.

 

Her fantastic presentation about Dad’s Celebration of Life is something I am most grateful for. It was really a heartfelt expression of her Love for my Father. They really became close over the 18-years of knowing each other and she told a beautiful story in pictures and stories. It was really awesome and I hope you enjoy it as much as I, and Dad would.

 

Dad’s amazing legacy
dad and kevinDad is an accomplished man of 93-years. He established a loving family, successful business and influenced others positively through his great spirit. His friendly attitude will live on through others. One word that continually is shared about Dad’s legacy is “Decent”. Everyone agrees that Dad is a Decent person with great Integrity and high morality.

So, I wanted to provide this update on my personal life but I want to challenge you right-now, right this minute, in this moment of time…….to do something positive in honor of my wonderful father. For example, if you are reading this on social media, e-mail or whatever; just say a simple thank you to someone that deserves it – right now. Or if you are more ambitious do something such a volunteer at a homeless facility. Then, of course, something that would be super-extra special is to do something nice for our needy-military veterans. You choose your means to give and it doesn’t need to be monetary. In fact, just the contrary, just do something nice. Floyd Neal would love that and he’s watching over you as an Angel from the Heaven’s above.

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Love,
Kevin

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