Thomas Clayton Neill

By Staff
July 30, 2007
Funeral for Thomas Clayton Neill, 56, of Falkville will be Thursday (today), August 2 at 12:00 p.m. at Hartselle Heritage Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Jeff Redmond officiating.
Burial was in Simcoe Methodist Church Cemetery in Cullman.
Mr. Neill passed away Monday, July 30, 2007, at his residence. He was born August 28, 1950, in Jefferson County to Luster Clayton Neill and Clara Clellan Fowler Neill.
He attended Lyman Ward Military Academy, where he graduated as a lieutenant with honors in 1970. He enlisted in the United States Navy in June 1971 and married his high school sweetheart in August 1971. Throughout his military career as a Cryptologic Technician (CTT-1), he and his family were assigned to many duty stations in the states and overseas. After retiring from the Navy in February 1992, he moved his family back to Alabama and began his second career working for Wal-Mart. He managed the garden center for 15 years until his diagnosis with ALS forced him into permanent retirement in 2005.
He is survived by his wife, Debra L. Neill of Falkville; a son, U S. Navy Lt. Thomas Clayton Neill of San Diego; two daughters, U.S. Air Force Captain Amy Neill Estes of Montgomery and Julie Christina Neill of Hartselle; his mother, Clellan Neill of Birmingham; and two sisters, Laura Thorton of Prattville and Susan Johnson of Hoover.
Pallbearers will be Lt. Thomas Neill Jr., Lee Estes, Jim Bergum, Police Officer Chip Reynolds, Daniel Johnson and Graham Ellis.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Muscular Dystrophy Association or the Alabama chapter of the ALS Society.