Retired U.S. Air Force Major Frank A. Neely Jr., 78, passed away quietly at his home Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. He was 78 years old. Frank was born Feb. 24, 1939, in Roda, Va., to Frank A. and Marian F. Neely.
He grew up in Big Stone Gap, Va., and graduated from Central High School in Fayetteville, Tenn., in 1956. Frank enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1956 as a weather observer and in 1961 attended the Aviation Cadet Program, where he became a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force. He served as a navigator on transport and refueling aircraft and later as a personnel officer. During this period, Frank also served in the Republic of Vietnam from October 1968 to Octoer 1969 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1978, Frank attended Old Dominion University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1980. He worked as an accountant until retirement in 2005.
Frank is survived by his son, Frank A. Neely III; daughter, Ann N., and her husband, Paul Jennings Sample; stepson, Daniel “Felix,” and his wife, Cherry Unger; partner, Susan Moon Sanders; grandchildren, Frank A. and Kristi Hanson and Keely C., Erich M. and Erin S. Sample; great-grandson, Ta’vio Mitchell; sisters, Marietta, and her husband, Jeff Collins, Susan, and her husband, Rod Chastain; and brother, Robert, and his wife, Susan Neely. Frank was preceded in death by his parents, Frank A. and Marian F. Neely; and by his wife, Cathryn P. Neely.
Visitation and receiving of friends and family will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, at Amory Funeral Home, 410 Grafton Drive, Yorktown. A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 1, in Peninsula Memorial Park, 12750 Warwick Blvd., Newport News.
The family requests memorial donations be made to a veterans-related charity of your choice.
