Neil Eney
Neil on Deck
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Neil on Watch
Neil was born in Seattle, Washington on February 21st, 1938. He graduated from Lake Washington High School in 1956. The day Neil graduated from high school, he and a friend went to the Navy recruiting office and enlisted. His 20 year Naval career took him to bases in New England, Virginia, California, and finally Hawaii. He served on five different destroyers during his military career which included three West-Pac cruises during the Vietnam War.. His specialty was that of Sonarman. He moved from the enlisted class ranks to officer during his time in the service. Neil served on the staff of the Commander of Oceanographic System Pacific, a recently declassified program to place microphones throughout the Pacific Ocean for monitoring Soviet submarines. Neil retired from the Navy as a lieutenant in 1976. One of Neil’s Navy pals said of him, “He was technically proficient in every way, he was a leader among all enlisted and officers, he was respected as an ethical person, and he was a good ship driver (Officer of the Deck, aka O.D.). Neil could be counted on to do his very best every day in every way.”
While stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, Neil was introduced to his future wife, Page. As they both lived in the same apartment complex, the manager of the complex knocked on Page’s door one night and said, “You have to meet this Navy officer who lives downstairs.” Page replied with, “No thank you, not interested.” The manager eventually persuaded her to meet him saying, “Come on, this guy is different.” Somewhat reluctantly, she followed the manager downstairs and they knocked on his door. One of Neil’s roommates answered, as Neil was in the kitchen cooking dinner at the time. His willingness to take on cooking duties admittedly 
made a very good first impression on Page. They chatted for a bit, until Neil and his Navy roommates had to leave for an event back on the ship. As he left the apartment that night he turned to his shipmates and said, “I’m going to marry that girl!” They laughed good-naturedly but his declaration was in earnest. Neil courted Page for the next two weeks until he proposed to her on the 26th of June. Six months later on the 26th of November, they were married. Page and Neil would have celebrated 43 years of loving marriage this November 26th, 2012.
After retiring from the Navy in June of 1976, Neil returned to the Seattle area. With assistance from the Vietnam Era GI Bill, he attended the University of Washington. He graduated cum laude in 1980, achieving a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. At university, the technical skills he acquired in the Navy led Neil to specialize in what was then a brand new field, business computing. Upon graduating, he went to work for Sundstrand Data Corporation, an avionics manufacturer famous for their “Black Boxes”. In 1987 he went to Boeing where he worked as a system administrator in support of Boeing Phantom Works and other defense and space based projects. Neil retired from Boeing in 2005.
It took a few years for Neil to become comfortable with retirement, but eventually he settled in to an enjoyable lifestyle where he focused his time on playing golf as much as possible, enjoying time with his family, and visiting with his friends at the local Starbucks. In the last few years if you were looking for Neil, he would be on the golf course, at Starbucks, tinkering in his garage or volunteering his time to help non-profits maintain their computer systems. He was not afraid of embracing the most recent technological wonders.
Neil was always a generous and loving man. People couldn’t help themselves, they all fell in love with him. His beautiful smile stayed with him even during the last year, which was very challenging for him as he valiantly fought his lung cancer diagnosis.
Some of Neil’s favorite sayings were:
Peachy Keen or Hanging in there: his answer when you asked how he was doing, even during his final days
“Hanging in There”
Bob’s your uncle – which roughly translates to ‘and there you have it…’
Page made sure to tell Neil that since they were engaged on the 26th and married on the 26th, she really didn’t want him going anywhere on the 26th. Being the thoughtful man that he was, he took his last breaths at 12:02AM on October 27th.
Neil was preceded in death by his father, Neilson E. Eney Sr, and his mother Irene Marie Fleetham. He is survived by his brother Renald Eney (Ginette), sister Arlene Ritzhaupt, sister Grace Lawrence (Jerry), brother James Eney (Janet), brother Tom Eney and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins including a large extended family on our mother’s side in Virginia. Additionally, he is survived by his beloved wife Page Eney and two children, Neilson P. Eney (Stacy Rosevear) and Crystal L. Eney (Bruce MacKenzie).
We would like to express a heartfelt thank you to his devoted oncologist, Dr. Ahmed. She did everything in her power to help Dad fight his battle with cancer. She and her staff, and the people at Evergreen Hospice were truly remarkable individuals, we are so thankful for their kindness and care in working with Dad.
Neil was an active member of his church, a proud veteran, an avid golfer, an adoring and beloved husband, and a proud father of his two children. He will be missed by so many people. You touched our hearts Neil, and those of so many more. We love you.
The memorial service for Neil shall be held on Veteran’s Day, Sunday, November 11th, 2012, 3pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kirkland, Washington. A smaller internment service at Tahoma National Cemetery will follow at a later date.
To honor Neil’s generous spirit, a scholarship in his name has been established to help veteran’s attend the University of Washington in Computer Science & Engineering or Electrical Engineering. Tax-deductible donations can be made at:
https://www.washington.edu/giving/make-a-gift/?page=make&code=ENEYSS
Checks for the scholarship can also be made out to the UW Foundation with Neil E. Eney in the memo line.Addressed to:
Karen Howard Leikin
UW – College of Engineering
371 Loew Hall – Box 352180
Seattle, WA 98195-2180
The internment at Tahoma National Cemetery will be on Friday, 11/23/12 at 11:15 AM. Attendees should arrive early