David Hugh Neal
, 61, passed away on August 4
th
in his sleep in Phoenix, AZ after dealing with Parkinson’s, a debilitating disease.
David, often called David Hugh or Dave, was born in Mesa, AZ on February 11, 1960 to David Newton Neal and Christine Cowley Neal. He was the first of 5 boys and he lived nearly his entire life in Tempe, AZ. He went to Rural Elementary and graduated from Marco de Niza High School. He was in the Boy Scouts and advanced to the rank of Eagle, he was also an Order of the Arrow member.
Dave is survived by his parents, his brothers, their wives and many nieces and nephews.
Dave started doing lawns with his brothers in high school. He was very particular about how the lawn should be done. He loved to buy new equipment, but his passion was buying tools. After high school he worked for a family friend, Delbert Peterson, at his service station and this is where he started his Snap-on tool collection. He became a great customer on the tool trucks and even though he liked the red vines, that wasn’t the draw for Dave. For him it was the shiny chrome tools he loved the most. When he left the service station, he went back and focused on lawns for a period of time. He also would do the lawns for his brothers Terry and Stuart, who owned T&S Body Works. While doing the lawns he decided he would like to do more for the body shop and he would sweep, empty garbage cans, and cut up the cardboard boxes to put in the recycle bin. He did this until the Parkinson’s got so bad that he could no longer accomplish the tasks at hand. Even though he no longer worked on customer’s lawns or at the body shop, he continued to help his parents at their house by sweeping, raking and doing other chores. Through the years he made many acquaintances and friends.
In his last few months, he was in an assisted living home. He made friends with some of the staff. They said he would help with many of the other residents there and that he would always have a smile. He would help the handy man with the outdoor furniture by sanding and painting it, and would always ask for more tools to do the job better. That was Dave.
Family and Friends are invited to the viewing Friday August 13 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm at Bueler Mortuary 14 W Hulet Dr, Chandler, AZ 85225. There is a Graveside service for Family Saturday August 14 from 8:30 to 9:15 am at 2100 E Queen Creek Rd, Gilbert, AZ 85297. To express condolences, visit https://buelermortuary.com/