Anthony Neville passed away peacefully at home on August 18, 2015. He was 81 years old. Tony was born on February 18, 1934 in Tullamore, County Offaly, Ireland. He was fourth of thirteen children, who at an early age went to work on the family farm, and he also served as an apprentice to a local carpenter. In March 1955, at 21, Tony left home and tried his luck in New York City. He settled in Middle Village. Middle Village was his home for the next sixty years.
Tony is survived by his wife Maureen. In 1958, Tony married Maureen Hurley. Maureen also moved to New York from Ireland and they met at a dance at City Center in Manhattan. Maureen was born in Ballydehob, County Cork. Tony and Maureen were married for fifty-seven years. Together they had ten children and twenty five grandchildren.
In his twenties, Tony had an earlier brush with death. Luck was with him. While working on a scaffold when the TWA terminal was being constructed at JFK airport, the scaffolding collapsed. His partner working next to him was killed. Both of Tony’s legs were broken, but he survived. His guardian angel saved him that day.
After the scaffolding collapse, Tony moved to inside construction. He worked for about forty years as a union carpenter installing ceilings, often in the original Trade Center in Manhattan. Tony was an active member of Carpenter’s Union Local 608. When running for election, his campaign slogan was “Tony Neville, a man of action”.
A man of action he was. When his loving bride saw that he had a couple of minutes with nothing to do, she convinced him to buy fifteen acres of land in Dutchess County. This affectionately became known as the “Neville Work Farm”. Tony led his intrepid work force to clear the land and build a house. Everyone had a job. Even the youngest children had a job stacking logs.
Tony was a religious man. He worked hard to raise his family to respect religion and be good people. Tony used to take about five or six of his children with him to the 10:15 mass. We were always a couple of minutes late with his brood providing entertainment to all around. He had two or three children on either side of him. If one child was looking behind or poking a sibling, that child was moved next to him so Tony could prevent any other inattention to the mass.
After retiring, Tony spent a lot of his time on his porch meeting and greeting passersby. As the patriarch of an ever growing clan, Tony presided over family gatherings at Thanksgiving, Christmas, weddings, christenings and other family events.
Throughout his life, Tony was good man with simple needs. He worked hard, but had many laughs along the way. Tony will be missed. May he rest in peace.

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