Neal McLaughlin

March 25, 1931 - August 11, 2023

Neal wrote his own requiem - 

"If you are reading this, I am a dead duck. Indeed, for me, it has been a long and truly wonderful life, for which I thank Almighty God, my family and the many friends, in and out of business, all, who helped me live it. We, me and my four siblings, grew up like free range chickens trotting the golden hills of pre-smog southern California; the children of non-hovering parents. Poor as church mice, but we never knew it until maybe our senior year of high school when all our rich friends were off to Ivy League schools. My education included parochial school through the ninth grade, public high school, Pasadena City College, UC Berkeley, the United States Army and finally, a BA degree from UCLA at the age of 26. It was an under-achieving youth through which I glided; seeds were planted, but nothing bloomed until I got my first career job.

That job surprised me in how easy it seemed to be and how quickly I started to get good at it. It put me in the industrial sales field of Material Handling and Storage Equipment; in and out of hundreds of warehouses and factories throughout the US and Canada. It became a career of nine positions with four companies and five relocations. Never had a bad job or a bad place to live.

I started as a field salesman at which I was highly mediocre, but I soon began to morph into a sales manager and a gifted one at that. And lo and behold, the callow youth of yore began to achieve things that made real contributions to the companies he worked for and developed actual leadership skills.

I am survived by 'the wife of the house', but what a wife! I met Gisele Marie Marcella Gosy in late March of 1961 on a blind date at 11 pm in the lobby of the Huntington Memorial Hospital. She was an RN working the 3 to 11 shift in the OR. There she stood, dressed to the nines at five feet and 100 pounds, fresh from Montreal with little English. She made me feel like King Kong. Gisele was a stunning beauty and she proved to be an absolute true-blue rock. We were married on January 11, 1964, almost 60 years ago. We had our children in due course, who are now two successful, independent women with families of their owns:  Sheila Paulino (Ransen), Martine Buck (Daryn); and three grandsons. All reside in Oklahoma City. Plus we also have 22 nieces and nephews and their families are scattered across the US and Canada.

I was diagnosed some months ago as having AML - Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Prognosis:  treatment will extend my life to some degree, it will kill me. If you are reading...etc.

So, this is farewell my friends and may God bless you. And do not grieve for me; I die a happy man. Instead, raise a glass to my memory!"

Mercer- Adams Funeral Service, August 13, 2023