Mance Elliott Neely was a loving father to his son Paul and two daughters Jana and Jill, a loyal and loving husband to his wife Jan and loving “Pawpaw” to his eight grandchildren and four great grandchildren as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
Mance was born in Merryville, La where he grew up. Later he moved to the orange area where he was employed by A. Schulman, Inc. as a Maintenance Supervisor for 43 years. His greatest love was for outdoor activities, whether they were for work or leisure. Throughout his life he has had many opportunities to travel the country. He and Paul took countless hunting trips to west Texas and Colorado with his dear friend Kenneth Ballard. He would sometimes joke that he “had been to Harvard” since he did technically set foot on the campus once while visiting Massachusetts. Mance was never one to shy away from hard work-in fact, he loved to embrace (and master) any task no matter how new or difficult, whether it was carpentry, auto mechanics, plumbing, or ranching and was a proud member of the Bridge City Masonic Lodge. Even in his advanced age while recovering with a recently broken leg, one of his top priorities was finding out when could get on the tractor again to start mowing pastures helping his son out; and in the meantime, he often insisted that Jan take him for drives around the pastures so he could check on the fences and the cattle. His dedication and resilience to his passions and hobbies could only be rivaled by the love he had for his family and friends.
Mance is preceded in death by his father Walter Jake Neely, mother Ima Cochran Neely, sister Regina Neely Barron, brother Maxie Neely, Sr. ,nephew Maxie Neely Jr., and great grandson Brooks Mason Moreland.
He is survived by his wife, Jan Neely, his children Jana Neely Clark (Rob), Paul Neely (Elizabeth), Jill Aucoin(George) grandchildren Angela Benoit and fiancé Chris Hoelter, Aimee Sherrick (Jake), Ashlee Benoit, Whitney Moreland (Mason)Robert Clark (Jena), Jason Clark, Hunter Aucoin (Kamryn), Heather Pittman (Preston), Scarlett Neely and Wyatt Neely, eight great grandchildren and many nieces, nephews and his loyal dog Sugar.
Memorial Service will be Saturday, May 31 at 11 a.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church, 401-N. 37th St., Orange, TX 77630. Visitation will begin prior to service at 10 a.m. A private burial will be held in Merryville, LA. In Lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the church, Humane Society of SETX or your favorite Charity.
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