Neal Family Barnhouse Update, 07/29/2023

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It’s been awhile since our kids latest update, so here goes:

Bleu-Berry!

Bleu, is our wonderful chill baby. She is a 6-year old rescue kitty and her days are spent mostly sleeping and minding her own business. Bleu is mostly active at night where she likes to cuddle with Mommy and be a big baby. She is strong as an ox with a great personality.

Bleu is strong as an ox and is like a little black panther kitty. She is the mature feline amongst our other children and she’s the responsible adult most of the time. Occasionally, late at night when no one is watching she will come out and run around the living room as daddy shines the red-laser pointer thingy for her.

The Grace!

Gracie, who we adopted on the same day as Bleu, is our crazy Chiweenie. Gracie is also 6-years old and she’s a lot of fun. She spends her days barking at everything as if her little stature will be intimidating enough to do something.

“The Grace!”, as Mommy likes to refer to her is always full of energy. Her spunky attitude is very relatable to Brandee so I think this is why these two characters have such a tight bond :-).

Gracie’s greatest strength is also her greatest weakness as her curious nature tends to get her into be trouble….especially when chasing skunks in the backyard. She’s gotten sprayed several times but keeps running after them nevertheless.

The rescue sissies!

As I mentioned, Bleu and Gracie were adopted on the same day, so they are forever sissies. These two are totally trusting in every way that it’s so heart-warming.

It’s truly wonderfully remarkable for me to see cats and dogs getting along so awesome. It’s so refreshing to witness everyone getting along so nice and I just wish that people could do the same.

You can’t imagine the incredible bond between these two. It’s an amazing display of love and it’s most evident when either of them isn’t feeling well, then the other instinctively protectively cares for the other.

Ella-Bean

Ella, is our 5-year old, crazy-beyond-belief Tortoise Hair beauty. Ella is full of energy and runs around the house at light-speed. She has a crazy look in her eyes and her personality is a match!

Ella has a very independent personality and doesn’t mind spending time on her own. However when she does make an appearance, she always has to be the center of attention!

Although Ella is only 10 pounds, she thinks she owns the world. I guess good things come in small packages?
She loves to be friendly with other animals like the birds, squirrels and raccoons in our backyard.

Finn-Ster

Finn is our nearly 2-year old rescue, 71-pound, black lab, who commands the most attention. While he’s the biggest of all our animals, he’s bar-far, the most attention-demanding guy of all! We love his energy, but he’s a lot of work, for sure!

Just like Bleu like to chase the red-laser pointer thingy, Finn is a huge fan of flashy-lights! He also loves for Mommy and Daddy to toss his catchy-balls way up in the air so he can jump and catch them skillfully in his mouth. We can do hundreds of catchy-ball throws per night and he never gets enough!

Finn loves to play with Ella especially and, believe me, she loves to reciprocate! Finn and Ella love to tease each other and it’s so cute. Ella will hide under the couch and every time Finn sticks his nose under the couch, then Ella swats in the stout….with love of course :-).

Just Cat (J.C.)

J.C. (“Just Cat”), is our latest re-homed baby and we are so grateful for him!!! He was a gift that we weren’t sure would be compatible with our four other babies, but he’s been a perfect addition to the Neal Family Barnhouse!

The phrase “Last, but not least” has never been more appropriate than with J.C. He truly is a gift from God. As you’ve read with our other furry children, we love them all. However, as much as we wanted J.C. to come home with us, it wasn’t right to disrupt our current furry children, so this was a major concern.

Overall, Brandee and I are so happy to give our children such a wonderful life. We are proud parents with all these waggy-tails, stinky-breath and deadly-claws! We love them all so much that this is our purpose in life.

God Bless and Please Adopt,
Kevin

Sweet memories of a wonderful person, Pat Haley

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Aunt Pat –
Always a positive attitude

My name is Kevin Neal, son of Floyd Neal.  My Dad and my auntie Pat were very close.

Although not biological brother and sister, my Dad and Pat, had a brother/sister-type bond that lasted their entire lives; including now, reunited together again, in Heaven.

My Dad is from Oklahoma originally and hopped a freight train to California when he was only 14 years old. The only family he knew, for the most part, in California was Pat and aunt Rosalie.

Because these three wonderful people were so close-in-age, they spent their early lives growing up together as kids themselves.  Each of them would tell their various versions of stories of childhood mischief, and you can always tell there were some additional details that weren’t meant for public consumption.  It was their secret and we, as their kids, never probed too much.

Uncle Al –
Loving picture to Pat

As I mentioned, Dad left Oklahoma and arrived in California at the age of 14 and he didn’t start a family until the age of 49. So, I would consider that the ‘golden ages’ of when this was a time when Dad and Pat created a lot of those wonderful memories and forever unknown mischief they stirred-up.  I guess we can forgive them.  Personally, I think they all thought themselves as serious rebels, but I think their version of being a rebel might be as terribly awful *sarcasm* as getting caught smoking a cigarette back in the day.

Then, after I was born, I will fondly remember how kind and considerate both Aunt Pat and Uncle Al were with hosting family events such as BBQ’s and reunions. As young kids we were just having naïve fun, but I think the adults really appreciated their time together very much.

I’ll never forget the fun times the Neal and Haley families would spend camping and watering skiing at Lake Camanche.  These were really special times where us kids made some amazing memories of our own with some of our own exclusion of public consumption! 😊

Pat had, and has, (I don’t like to use the past tense word like ‘had’ because Pat, and Al, both have strong legacies that will live on forever) an incredible zest for life.  This is an extremely special quality of aunt Pat.  She always had a smile on her face, a positive attitude and was so encouraging to others.

Aunt Pat –
Always family first

She has this amazing gift to turn a negative comment into a positive outlook somehow. For example, someone might make an innocent comment such as “it’s raining today so it’s going to be an awful day”.  Aunt Pat, with her quick and witty humor, would respond with something such as “well, at least I won’t have to water the garden, it’s going to be wonderful day, right?”.  And I’ll never forget how the inflection of her voice at the end of sentences was always up-beat and full of life and energy.  Pat is an amazingly strong person and I will always admire her strength, humor and wisdom.

As I was driving up from San Jose to Carmichael this morning, I was trying to think of all the right words to share with you today to summarize the beautiful life and legacy of our beloved aunt Pat but, honestly, I couldn’t encapsulate the essence of her accurately.

Then, flipping through the radio stations in my car, I came across a song that perfectly spoke the words I was looking for, and the essence of Pat’s life.

It was a country song called “Buy Dirt” by Jordan Davis. Here is a link to the YouTube video: https://youtu.be/AKec3LTILRU.  I’m not a huge country music fan so for me to stop and listen to this song, on this station, had to be some kind of divine intervention!

The lyrics especially hit-home with me because this is what Pat loved most which was to live a peaceful life on ‘dirt’ with her partner (Al and their children), watch grass grow, witness kids grow up, and be a decent person because ‘it all goes quick’.

I think Aunt Pat appreciated every moment of life much more than most of us, because she knew it all goes quick.  She took in every moment, and gave in every moment, with incredible compassion and sincerity.

God Bless Auntie Pat. We love you!

-Kevin Neal

*********************************************

“Buy Dirt” by Jordan Davis lyrics

A few days before he turned 80
He was sittin’ out back in a rocker
He said, “What you been up to lately?”
I told him, “Chasing a dollar”
And in between sips of coffee
He poured this wisdom out
Said, “If you want my two cents on making a dollar count

Buy dirt
Find the one you can’t live without
Get a ring, let your knee hit the ground
Do what you love but call it work
And throw a little money in the plate at church
Send your prayers up and your roots down deep
Add a few limbs to your family tree
And watch their pencil marks
And the grass in the yard all grow up”

‘Cause the truth about it is
It all goes by real quick
You can’t buy happiness
But you can buy dirt

Before you get caught on that ladder
Let me tell you what it’s all about
Find you a few things that matter
That you can put a fence around
And then he laid it out

Buy dirt
Find the one you can’t live without
Get a ring, let your knee hit the ground
Do what you love but call it work
And throw a little money in the plate at church
Send your prayers up and your roots down deep
And add a few limbs to your family tree
And watch their pencil marks
And the grass in the yard all grow up

‘Cause the truth about it is
It all goes by real quick
You can’t buy happiness
But you can buy dirt

You can buy dirt
And thank the good Lord for it
‘Cause He ain’t makin’ any more of it

So buy dirt
Find the one you can’t live without
Get a ring, let your knee hit the ground
Do what you love but call it work
And throw a little money in the plate at church
Send your prayers up and your roots down deep
Add a few limbs to your family tree
And watch their pencil marks
And the grass in the yard all grow up

‘Cause the truth about it is
It all goes by real quick
You can’t buy happiness
But you can buy dirt

Virginia Lee ‘Bunny’ (Harmon) Stites

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Oct. 20, 1940 – Jan. 15, 2022

The immediate family held a graveside Service for Virginia Lee “Bunny” (Harmon) Stites, 81, of Sallisaw, at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, at Sallisaw City Cemetery under the direction of Agent Mallory Martin Funeral Service, Inc.

Virginia Lee “Bunny” (Harmon) Stites, age, 81, died peacefully in her home in Sallisaw on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022. She was a 1958 graduate of Sallisaw High School and later went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Education from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah. After high school, she married Herbert Wayne Stites and they raised three children. She worked for over 50 years at Stites Oil Company, Stites Farms, and the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Office (ASCS) in Sallisaw. After the death of Herbert, she married Max Nimmo in 2002.

Bunny was a loving mother and grandmother and cherished every moment she had with family and friends. She was an avid reader and loved a good crossword puzzle, but nothing entertained her more than watching Oklahoma Sooner football and OKC Thunder basketball. She loved Jesus and had a wonderful relationship with Him. She will be missed by all who knew her.

She is survived by her three sons, Michael Wayne, Richard Darren and Phillip Craig; and her six grandchildren, Seth, Nick, Nate, Sophie, Will and Stella. She also leaves behind a host of family and friends that she loved and cherished dearly. She was preceded in death by her parents, Audra (Williams) Harmon and Richard Jewell Harmon; her sister, Betty (Harmon) Lowe; and husbands, Herbert Wayne Stites and Waylon Max Nimmo.

Active pallbearers were Seth Stites, Nick Stites, Nate Stites and Will Stites.
Viewing was 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Agent Mallory Martin Funeral Home in Sallisaw.
Memorial donations may be made to First United Methodist Church, 2100 McGee, Sallisaw, OK 74955.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Santa Clara County

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Friends, family and strangers reading this blog today, tomorrow or in the future,

I’m writing this blog post to try and capture the mood of our local community in Santa Clara County, but also though out the world wide. To sum up the situation, all businesses that are deemed “non-essential” are closed to any in-personal interaction. This includes dine-in restaurants, schools, parks and anywhere a group of 10 or more people are likely to gather.

The Coronavirus (a.k.a. COVID-19) is a highly infectious virus that, as far as we know at the time of this blog post, originated somewhere in China and has spread across the globe infecting millions and killing tens-of-thousands thus far.

According to most experts, the ‘surge’ of cases for infection and death of Coronavirus is predicted to dramatically escalate over the next few weeks. Santa Clara County has been on a voluntary ‘shelter-in-place’ order by our local government since early March 2020. Since then the county has begun to enforce the order for places such as restaurants who continue to offer dine-in services or beauty salons who continue to serve their customers.

It’s really a tough situation right now because these small businesses cannot survive being without paying customers for even a short period of time so they push the limits of a public safety order. On the other hand, people’s lives are a top priority and some people question whether such drastic extremes as ‘shelter-in-place’, instead of just ‘social distancing common sense’ are really necessary.

Fortunately, there are now some federal government stimulus money being promised to small business owners, however they are already having major problems with implementing a simple approval process and/or approval workflow.

I, personally, just cringe at how ineffective our government is when it comes to offer services back to the very needy taxpayers because my business is all about work-process automation. These problems I see every day, plain as day, can be easily solved at a fraction of the budget; if you just remove the politics. So I won’t hold my breath.

As you can image, it’s an unreal situation trying to live your normal life with so many restrictions but if it’s for the greater sake of humanity then, from at least what I’ve observed, most people have been totally compliant which is absolutely heart-warming to me. It’s an unbelievable time that you need to have empathy, compassion and patience with others.

After being locked in the house for nearly 1 month solid I told Brandee I wanted to take a night-walk to the store just to experience the activity level on a Spring night, on the weekend in California. I can tell you what I experienced in my walk to the store was remarkable! There is little activity on a usually busy Saturday night. I walked down the middle of what typically is a busy road, with only one car encounter. Also, there was only one airplane that I noticed taking-off from the San Jose International Airport and there was general no sign of life in the outside world.

I’m proud of my fellow community to observe the shelter-in-place order to help slow the spread of the virus. However, at some point we have to balance the risk versus the negative impact to society for social isolation. As I walked to the store this evening in the silence of the night all I could think of was this song remake from the band Distributed entitled “The Sound of Silence”.

Stay safe, stay healthy and stay positive everyone!

Sincerely,

Kevin

Charles Edward Utley (September 1, 1926 – August 14, 2018)

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Chuck Utley
Chuck Utley

Charles “Chuck” Utley, passed away peacefully on August 14, 2018 in Los Altos, CA. Chuck was born September 1, 1926 in Buffalo, NY and was the devoted husband and best friend of Cornelia van der Voort, who he affectionately called “Neil”. He is survived by sons, Robert B. Utley, and his wife Elisabeth of Sydney, Australia, Nelson V. Utley, and his wife Barbara of Cupertino, CA, and Charles A. Utley, and his wife Teresa of Campbell, CA. He also leaves behind much-loved grandsons, Nicholas and Lucas and precious granddaughter, Emily.

Chuck was the son of Charles Bach Utley and Kate (Phelps) Utley. As an only child, he grew up in Buffalo, NY until enlisting in the U.S. Navy during WWII and serving as a signalman on landing crafts in the South Pacific. He graduated from Williams College, Willamstown, MA in 1949. Chuck began his marketing career in Buffalo at Sattlers, a pioneering discount department store, moving later to building products manufacturer National Gypsum Company. He then joined Whitney Seed Company, maker of lawn and garden products, where he was responsible for marketing and advertising. He met his future wife at the wedding of a mutual friend in 1950 and they were married three years later at Neil’s family home in Fredonia, NY and then settling in East Aurora, NY.

In 1963 he moved his sales and marketing experience from Buffalo to Rumrill-Hoyt Advertising in Rochester, NY, where he became an account supervisor and vice president. Feeling the need for change in 1970, Chuck joined Robert Ebey Company Advertising in Menlo Park, CA but not before the family made a memorable cross-country automobile trip to their new home in Los Altos. He spent the next 20 years helping guide what became Ebey, Utley & Company through the economic ups and downs of Silicon Valley and assisted in the marketing successes of many of the area’s important commercial, financial and technology companies.

Throughout his life, Chuck enjoyed travel, barbershop quartet singing, skiing, musical theater, reading, cheering on the ’49ers and attempting to master the banjo. He was a consummate handy-man, ready to take on anything around the house. Above all, Chuck loved his wife, his sons and their families, and admired the character, accomplishments and joys they continually gave him. He will be forever remembered as a caring husband, extraordinary dad/granddad and passionate community volunteer who lived life to the fullest.