I admire many things about my father, but most of all I admire his courage to do the right thing.
A whiz at math and science as a child, Joseph Bowden Neely grew up through the Depression to program some of the first computers in his positions with the Central of Georgia Railroad in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia and the Southern Railway System in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Joe got his first full-time job at the Central of Georgia Railroad through his stepfather's sister, Georgia Riley. He was a graduate of Savannah High School and attended Calvary Baptist Temple in Savannah. He served in the U. S. Army from March 2, 1943 through March 2, 1946. As part of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) during World War II, he attended both the University of Dayton and the University of Illinois. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Tec 5.
Joe was born at home at 524 West York Street in Savannah at 5:30 am on Friday, April 20, 1923 the son of Joseph Bowden Neely, Sr. and Nettie Donnie King Neely Riley. At birth he weighed 7 pounds and 8 ounces.
Like his mother and daughter, he had hazel green eyes, black hair, and was of medium height. Like his daughter and granddaughter, his blood type was O+. His great-granddaughter shares his abilities in math and science. To honor him his daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and son-in-law have all donated blood and vote in every election.
His stepfather was Harry Riley. Joe and his younger brother Robbie were raised by their widowed mother after their father's death in 1928.
When his mother died of a heart attack in 1958, and Joe returned home to tell her granddaughter Sharlotte that "Ga-ga" Riley was dead, Joe said, "Now I am an orphan." With his father dead when Joe was only five years old and no other relatives in Savannah other than his mother and baby brother, Joe's biggest fear as a child was that he would be orphaned. (He kept secret from his daughter Sharlotte his lifelong fear of lightening so that he would not pass along that fear to her. In much the same way, Sharlotte hid her fear of flying from her daughter Bridgette.)
Joe's best friend growing up was Joe Lynch. In 1943 Joe Lynch was mustered into the U. S. Navy at the Navy Yard in Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, and Joe Neely was mustered into the U. S. Army at Fort McPherson in Atlanta.
A Mason (Landrum Lodge 48, Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Savannah), a veteran of World War II, and a member of the American Legion, Joe was married on Saturday, August 21, 1943 at the First Baptist Church in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio to his high school sweetheart Kathleen Bell Neely. Kathleen and Joe had met backstage at Savannah High School in a pageant in which Joe played Indian chief Tomochichi and Kathleen played a Greek goddess. Their only child is Sharlotte ("Sharkey") Kathleen Bridgette Neely Donnelly (anthropologist, wife, mother, and grandmother).
On the same day, August 21, 1943, Joe's ASTP buddy, Dayton Clyde Royall, and his bride Edith Mangum Royall Potter were married at the same church. Kathleen had taken the train from Savannah to Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, and she and Edith then drove from Raleigh to Dayton.
Joe, Kathleen, and Sharlotte lived in Savannah (mostly at 2204 Texas Avenue, and then 12 Wilshire Boulevard) until 1962 and then moved to the Atlanta area (where they mostly lived at 2094 Myrtle Lane, Apt. 6 in Decatur).
Their only grandchild is Mary Kathleen Bridgette Elisabeth Donnelly. Their only birth great-grandchild is Mary Kathleen Quinn Cecilia Donnelly. They also have foster great-grandchildren including Na'Riah, Trace, Xavier, and Nehemiah (plus, in a way, those kids' other siblings, half siblings, adopted siblings, step siblings, and foster siblings). His only brother was James Robert ("Robbie") Neely, Sr. Joe and Robbie had twin brothers who were born and died before Joe and Robbie were born.
Throughout his life Joe was committed to donating blood on a regular basis, and this fact has influenced his granddaughter Bridgette to donate blood on a regular basis. He also never missed voting in any election and frequently served on juries. In one trial in which a black man was accused of murder, Joe swung the jury from 11 to 1 for guilty to 12 to 0 for not guilty.
Joe died of a heart attack, just before Thanksgiving, at age 51 in the early morning hours on Tuesday, November 19, 1974 at DeKalb General Hospital in DeKalb County, Georgia. He is buried in the Neely family plot in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah next to his beloved wife Kathleen.
Everything fascinated Joe, and he passed along his love of learning to his daughter Sharlotte whom he wanted to get a PhD. She did. Thanks to the efforts of his son-in-law, Thomas Christian Donnelly, the Joseph Bowden Neely Memorial Award for Outstanding Student in Anthropology was endowed in 2021 at Northern Kentucky University which employed his daughter as a professor for 43 years.
Joe's ancestry is Irish, French, English, and--through the Sarvis and King surnames--coastal Carolina Native American, probably Lumbee.
Through his mother Nettie, Joe was of the clan of Helena. DNA testing reveals Nettie and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Neely family gemstone is the diamond. The flower is the red rose.
Most of this information comes from his wife Kathleen Bell Neely and his daughter Sharlotte Neely Donnelly. Any errors are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
Adequate preparation is the justification most often used by cowards reluctant to do the right thing. Problems are not solved by standing on the riverbank and preparing. Often one must wade into the river to discover the currents and whirlpools. Injustice is never defeated by preparation alone. One must decide to oppose evil even if a solution is not at first obvious. We find ways to defeat evil by engaging it in battle.
Sharlotte Neely, Anthropologist
A whiz at math and science as a child, Joseph Bowden Neely grew up through the Depression to program some of the first computers in his positions with the Central of Georgia Railroad in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia and the Southern Railway System in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Joe got his first full-time job at the Central of Georgia Railroad through his stepfather's sister, Georgia Riley. He was a graduate of Savannah High School and attended Calvary Baptist Temple in Savannah. He served in the U. S. Army from March 2, 1943 through March 2, 1946. As part of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) during World War II, he attended both the University of Dayton and the University of Illinois. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Tec 5.
Joe was born at home at 524 West York Street in Savannah at 5:30 am on Friday, April 20, 1923 the son of Joseph Bowden Neely, Sr. and Nettie Donnie King Neely Riley. At birth he weighed 7 pounds and 8 ounces.
Like his mother and daughter, he had hazel green eyes, black hair, and was of medium height. Like his daughter and granddaughter, his blood type was O+. His great-granddaughter shares his abilities in math and science. To honor him his daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and son-in-law have all donated blood and vote in every election.
His stepfather was Harry Riley. Joe and his younger brother Robbie were raised by their widowed mother after their father's death in 1928.
When his mother died of a heart attack in 1958, and Joe returned home to tell her granddaughter Sharlotte that "Ga-ga" Riley was dead, Joe said, "Now I am an orphan." With his father dead when Joe was only five years old and no other relatives in Savannah other than his mother and baby brother, Joe's biggest fear as a child was that he would be orphaned. (He kept secret from his daughter Sharlotte his lifelong fear of lightening so that he would not pass along that fear to her. In much the same way, Sharlotte hid her fear of flying from her daughter Bridgette.)
Joe's best friend growing up was Joe Lynch. In 1943 Joe Lynch was mustered into the U. S. Navy at the Navy Yard in Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, and Joe Neely was mustered into the U. S. Army at Fort McPherson in Atlanta.
A Mason (Landrum Lodge 48, Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Savannah), a veteran of World War II, and a member of the American Legion, Joe was married on Saturday, August 21, 1943 at the First Baptist Church in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio to his high school sweetheart Kathleen Bell Neely. Kathleen and Joe had met backstage at Savannah High School in a pageant in which Joe played Indian chief Tomochichi and Kathleen played a Greek goddess. Their only child is Sharlotte ("Sharkey") Kathleen Bridgette Neely Donnelly (anthropologist, wife, mother, and grandmother).
On the same day, August 21, 1943, Joe's ASTP buddy, Dayton Clyde Royall, and his bride Edith Mangum Royall Potter were married at the same church. Kathleen had taken the train from Savannah to Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, and she and Edith then drove from Raleigh to Dayton.
Joe, Kathleen, and Sharlotte lived in Savannah (mostly at 2204 Texas Avenue, and then 12 Wilshire Boulevard) until 1962 and then moved to the Atlanta area (where they mostly lived at 2094 Myrtle Lane, Apt. 6 in Decatur).
Their only grandchild is Mary Kathleen Bridgette Elisabeth Donnelly. Their only birth great-grandchild is Mary Kathleen Quinn Cecilia Donnelly. They also have foster great-grandchildren including Na'Riah, Trace, Xavier, and Nehemiah (plus, in a way, those kids' other siblings, half siblings, adopted siblings, step siblings, and foster siblings). His only brother was James Robert ("Robbie") Neely, Sr. Joe and Robbie had twin brothers who were born and died before Joe and Robbie were born.
Throughout his life Joe was committed to donating blood on a regular basis, and this fact has influenced his granddaughter Bridgette to donate blood on a regular basis. He also never missed voting in any election and frequently served on juries. In one trial in which a black man was accused of murder, Joe swung the jury from 11 to 1 for guilty to 12 to 0 for not guilty.
Joe died of a heart attack, just before Thanksgiving, at age 51 in the early morning hours on Tuesday, November 19, 1974 at DeKalb General Hospital in DeKalb County, Georgia. He is buried in the Neely family plot in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah next to his beloved wife Kathleen.
Everything fascinated Joe, and he passed along his love of learning to his daughter Sharlotte whom he wanted to get a PhD. She did. Thanks to the efforts of his son-in-law, Thomas Christian Donnelly, the Joseph Bowden Neely Memorial Award for Outstanding Student in Anthropology was endowed in 2021 at Northern Kentucky University which employed his daughter as a professor for 43 years.
Joe's ancestry is Irish, French, English, and--through the Sarvis and King surnames--coastal Carolina Native American, probably Lumbee.
Through his mother Nettie, Joe was of the clan of Helena. DNA testing reveals Nettie and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Neely family gemstone is the diamond. The flower is the red rose.
Most of this information comes from his wife Kathleen Bell Neely and his daughter Sharlotte Neely Donnelly. Any errors are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
Adequate preparation is the justification most often used by cowards reluctant to do the right thing. Problems are not solved by standing on the riverbank and preparing. Often one must wade into the river to discover the currents and whirlpools. Injustice is never defeated by preparation alone. One must decide to oppose evil even if a solution is not at first obvious. We find ways to defeat evil by engaging it in battle.
Sharlotte Neely, Anthropologist
I admire many things about my father, but most of all I admire his courage to do the right thing.
A whiz at math and science as a child, Joseph Bowden Neely grew up through the Depression to program some of the first computers in his positions with the Central of Georgia Railroad in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia and the Southern Railway System in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Joe got his first full-time job at the Central of Georgia Railroad through his stepfather's sister, Georgia Riley. He was a graduate of Savannah High School and attended Calvary Baptist Temple in Savannah. He served in the U. S. Army from March 2, 1943 through March 2, 1946. As part of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) during World War II, he attended both the University of Dayton and the University of Illinois. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Tec 5.
Joe was born at home at 524 West York Street in Savannah at 5:30 am on Friday, April 20, 1923 the son of Joseph Bowden Neely, Sr. and Nettie Donnie King Neely Riley. At birth he weighed 7 pounds and 8 ounces.
Like his mother and daughter, he had hazel green eyes, black hair, and was of medium height. Like his daughter and granddaughter, his blood type was O+. His great-granddaughter shares his abilities in math and science. To honor him his daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and son-in-law have all donated blood and vote in every election.
His stepfather was Harry Riley. Joe and his younger brother Robbie were raised by their widowed mother after their father's death in 1928.
When his mother died of a heart attack in 1958, and Joe returned home to tell her granddaughter Sharlotte that "Ga-ga" Riley was dead, Joe said, "Now I am an orphan." With his father dead when Joe was only five years old and no other relatives in Savannah other than his mother and baby brother, Joe's biggest fear as a child was that he would be orphaned. (He kept secret from his daughter Sharlotte his lifelong fear of lightening so that he would not pass along that fear to her. In much the same way, Sharlotte hid her fear of flying from her daughter Bridgette.)
Joe's best friend growing up was Joe Lynch. In 1943 Joe Lynch was mustered into the U. S. Navy at the Navy Yard in Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, and Joe Neely was mustered into the U. S. Army at Fort McPherson in Atlanta.
A Mason (Landrum Lodge 48, Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Savannah), a veteran of World War II, and a member of the American Legion, Joe was married on Saturday, August 21, 1943 at the First Baptist Church in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio to his high school sweetheart Kathleen Bell Neely. Kathleen and Joe had met backstage at Savannah High School in a pageant in which Joe played Indian chief Tomochichi and Kathleen played a Greek goddess. Their only child is Sharlotte ("Sharkey") Kathleen Bridgette Neely Donnelly (anthropologist, wife, mother, and grandmother).
On the same day, August 21, 1943, Joe's ASTP buddy, Dayton Clyde Royall, and his bride Edith Mangum Royall Potter were married at the same church. Kathleen had taken the train from Savannah to Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, and she and Edith then drove from Raleigh to Dayton.
Joe, Kathleen, and Sharlotte lived in Savannah (mostly at 2204 Texas Avenue, and then 12 Wilshire Boulevard) until 1962 and then moved to the Atlanta area (where they mostly lived at 2094 Myrtle Lane, Apt. 6 in Decatur).
Their only grandchild is Mary Kathleen Bridgette Elisabeth Donnelly. Their only birth great-grandchild is Mary Kathleen Quinn Cecilia Donnelly. They also have foster great-grandchildren including Na'Riah, Trace, Xavier, and Nehemiah (plus, in a way, those kids' other siblings, half siblings, adopted siblings, step siblings, and foster siblings). His only brother was James Robert ("Robbie") Neely, Sr. Joe and Robbie had twin brothers who were born and died before Joe and Robbie were born.
Throughout his life Joe was committed to donating blood on a regular basis, and this fact has influenced his granddaughter Bridgette to donate blood on a regular basis. He also never missed voting in any election and frequently served on juries. In one trial in which a black man was accused of murder, Joe swung the jury from 11 to 1 for guilty to 12 to 0 for not guilty.
Joe died of a heart attack, just before Thanksgiving, at age 51 in the early morning hours on Tuesday, November 19, 1974 at DeKalb General Hospital in DeKalb County, Georgia. He is buried in the Neely family plot in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah next to his beloved wife Kathleen.
Everything fascinated Joe, and he passed along his love of learning to his daughter Sharlotte whom he wanted to get a PhD. She did. Thanks to the efforts of his son-in-law, Thomas Christian Donnelly, the Joseph Bowden Neely Memorial Award for Outstanding Student in Anthropology was endowed in 2021 at Northern Kentucky University which employed his daughter as a professor for 43 years.
Joe's ancestry is Irish, French, English, and--through the Sarvis and King surnames--coastal Carolina Native American, probably Lumbee.
Through his mother Nettie, Joe was of the clan of Helena. DNA testing reveals Nettie and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Neely family gemstone is the diamond. The flower is the red rose.
Most of this information comes from his wife Kathleen Bell Neely and his daughter Sharlotte Neely Donnelly. Any errors are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
Adequate preparation is the justification most often used by cowards reluctant to do the right thing. Problems are not solved by standing on the riverbank and preparing. Often one must wade into the river to discover the currents and whirlpools. Injustice is never defeated by preparation alone. One must decide to oppose evil even if a solution is not at first obvious. We find ways to defeat evil by engaging it in battle.
Sharlotte Neely, Anthropologist
A whiz at math and science as a child, Joseph Bowden Neely grew up through the Depression to program some of the first computers in his positions with the Central of Georgia Railroad in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia and the Southern Railway System in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Joe got his first full-time job at the Central of Georgia Railroad through his stepfather's sister, Georgia Riley. He was a graduate of Savannah High School and attended Calvary Baptist Temple in Savannah. He served in the U. S. Army from March 2, 1943 through March 2, 1946. As part of the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) during World War II, he attended both the University of Dayton and the University of Illinois. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Tec 5.
Joe was born at home at 524 West York Street in Savannah at 5:30 am on Friday, April 20, 1923 the son of Joseph Bowden Neely, Sr. and Nettie Donnie King Neely Riley. At birth he weighed 7 pounds and 8 ounces.
Like his mother and daughter, he had hazel green eyes, black hair, and was of medium height. Like his daughter and granddaughter, his blood type was O+. His great-granddaughter shares his abilities in math and science. To honor him his daughter, granddaughter, great-granddaughter, and son-in-law have all donated blood and vote in every election.
His stepfather was Harry Riley. Joe and his younger brother Robbie were raised by their widowed mother after their father's death in 1928.
When his mother died of a heart attack in 1958, and Joe returned home to tell her granddaughter Sharlotte that "Ga-ga" Riley was dead, Joe said, "Now I am an orphan." With his father dead when Joe was only five years old and no other relatives in Savannah other than his mother and baby brother, Joe's biggest fear as a child was that he would be orphaned. (He kept secret from his daughter Sharlotte his lifelong fear of lightening so that he would not pass along that fear to her. In much the same way, Sharlotte hid her fear of flying from her daughter Bridgette.)
Joe's best friend growing up was Joe Lynch. In 1943 Joe Lynch was mustered into the U. S. Navy at the Navy Yard in Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, and Joe Neely was mustered into the U. S. Army at Fort McPherson in Atlanta.
A Mason (Landrum Lodge 48, Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Savannah), a veteran of World War II, and a member of the American Legion, Joe was married on Saturday, August 21, 1943 at the First Baptist Church in Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio to his high school sweetheart Kathleen Bell Neely. Kathleen and Joe had met backstage at Savannah High School in a pageant in which Joe played Indian chief Tomochichi and Kathleen played a Greek goddess. Their only child is Sharlotte ("Sharkey") Kathleen Bridgette Neely Donnelly (anthropologist, wife, mother, and grandmother).
On the same day, August 21, 1943, Joe's ASTP buddy, Dayton Clyde Royall, and his bride Edith Mangum Royall Potter were married at the same church. Kathleen had taken the train from Savannah to Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina, and she and Edith then drove from Raleigh to Dayton.
Joe, Kathleen, and Sharlotte lived in Savannah (mostly at 2204 Texas Avenue, and then 12 Wilshire Boulevard) until 1962 and then moved to the Atlanta area (where they mostly lived at 2094 Myrtle Lane, Apt. 6 in Decatur).
Their only grandchild is Mary Kathleen Bridgette Elisabeth Donnelly. Their only birth great-grandchild is Mary Kathleen Quinn Cecilia Donnelly. They also have foster great-grandchildren including Na'Riah, Trace, Xavier, and Nehemiah (plus, in a way, those kids' other siblings, half siblings, adopted siblings, step siblings, and foster siblings). His only brother was James Robert ("Robbie") Neely, Sr. Joe and Robbie had twin brothers who were born and died before Joe and Robbie were born.
Throughout his life Joe was committed to donating blood on a regular basis, and this fact has influenced his granddaughter Bridgette to donate blood on a regular basis. He also never missed voting in any election and frequently served on juries. In one trial in which a black man was accused of murder, Joe swung the jury from 11 to 1 for guilty to 12 to 0 for not guilty.
Joe died of a heart attack, just before Thanksgiving, at age 51 in the early morning hours on Tuesday, November 19, 1974 at DeKalb General Hospital in DeKalb County, Georgia. He is buried in the Neely family plot in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah next to his beloved wife Kathleen.
Everything fascinated Joe, and he passed along his love of learning to his daughter Sharlotte whom he wanted to get a PhD. She did. Thanks to the efforts of his son-in-law, Thomas Christian Donnelly, the Joseph Bowden Neely Memorial Award for Outstanding Student in Anthropology was endowed in 2021 at Northern Kentucky University which employed his daughter as a professor for 43 years.
Joe's ancestry is Irish, French, English, and--through the Sarvis and King surnames--coastal Carolina Native American, probably Lumbee.
Through his mother Nettie, Joe was of the clan of Helena. DNA testing reveals Nettie and her direct female descendants and ancestors and their brothers are of the clan of "Helena" (mtDNA haplogroup H) who lived 20,000 years ago in the Dordogne region of southwest France near the present city of Perpignan on the Mediterranean, gathering oysters and hunting and creating cave paintings.
The Neely family gemstone is the diamond. The flower is the red rose.
Most of this information comes from his wife Kathleen Bell Neely and his daughter Sharlotte Neely Donnelly. Any errors are mine alone. Please go to the "edit" link on this site with any corrections or additions.
Adequate preparation is the justification most often used by cowards reluctant to do the right thing. Problems are not solved by standing on the riverbank and preparing. Often one must wade into the river to discover the currents and whirlpools. Injustice is never defeated by preparation alone. One must decide to oppose evil even if a solution is not at first obvious. We find ways to defeat evil by engaging it in battle.
Sharlotte Neely, Anthropologist
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