Lowell Wesley Neil

Lowell Wesley Neil 1929-2026 Lowell was born March 29th, 1929 on a homestead near New England, North Dakota, the youngest of seven children. After the challenges of farming during the Great Depression and the “dustbowl” era, his parents, Angus and Anna Neil, moved their family to Vancouver, WA in 1935. As a boy, he loved his pets, especially his dog, Pal, though he also made many human friends, including several that would be his lifelong friends. He was a champion swimmer in high school, graduating from Vancouver High School in 1947. He then joined the US Navy with his good buddies, Kenny Clark and Al Bauer and was stationed in Japan and The Philippines. He swam competitively again in the Navy, winning a trophy and meeting the Emperor, Hirohito, after a swimming contest in Japan. After the Navy, he attended the University of Washington and graduated, becoming a public school teacher. Lowell married Shirley Parker in 1953 and they worked together for several years teaching ballroom dancing. His first school teaching job was teaching math at Ridgefield High School. The couple welcomed their daughter Patti in 1954 & son Kevin in 1956. Another daughter, Lisa, would complete the family in 1963. Lowell introduced his kids to many activities and adventures including fishing, camping and hiking. He spent the summer of 1959 studying at the American University in Mexico City and took the family along, driving all the way there and back in a red Volkswagen bug. He joined Vancouver Public Schools in the late 1950’s and ran the swimming program at Memory Pool, teaching swimming to every class of 4th graders in the district for many years. He also taught swimming to special education students, and coached both city and high school swim teams. He was involved with Special Olympics, traveling to Washington DC in 1972 as a coach and got to meet Eunice Shriver. After VPS ended the swimming program in the 70’s, Lowell taught driver’s ed and continued on with the district wherever he was needed. Many folks who attended Vancouver schools in the 60’s and 70’s can say that Mr. Neil taught them both how to swim and how to drive. Lowell started playing guitar and singing as a young man and kept up his keen interest in playing music all his life. He taught his son to play guitar and proudly watched Kevin excel far beyond his own skills, becoming a professional guitar player, singer and songwriter. The two enjoyed all opportunities they had to play music together. Lowell had his own band called Steel & Velvet which played regular gigs in the Vancouver area until he was well into his 80’s, with Kevin frequently joining in. Lowell took up ukulele in recent years and all of the large extended family and many close friends will fondly remember getting a birthday phone call with Lowell and his wife, Jan, serenading them on ukulele and singing Happy Birthday. Over his lifetime, he had many other diverse interests, from raising goats and gardening, to building his own hifi equipment, building his own kayak, braiding rugs, weaving afghans and sewing goosedown coats & sleeping bags for the family. He built a new house on top of Blueberry Hill in Salmon Creek, with a stunning view of pre-eruption Mt. St. Helens (which he later climbed to the top of). The kids remember the experiments with making homemade beer, wine and root beer in the basement of the Blueberry Hill house! Lowell met second wife, Jan, in 1980. Lowell and Jan enjoyed traveling, sailing & gardening. After he retired from teaching in 1982, he bought a sailboat with a friend and became an avid sailor, competing in many sailing races on the Columbia river, winning more than a few trophies. He had a second career as a campaign manager for state Senator, Al Bauer, who was one of his closest lifelong friends. Growing dahlia’s became a passion and many people would stop to buy bouquets from his garden along 119th street. He built another new house there in 1990, on the very same property his parents bought in 1935, and lived there the rest of his life. He and Jan always enjoyed time spent with their beloved Lhasa Apso dogs. Lowell passed away on Sunday, May 10th, 2026 and is survived by wife, Jan, daughter Patti, son Kevin, daughter Lisa, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, with a ninth that will be born this summer.

Lowell Wesley Neil

March 29, 1929 - May 10, 2026