Edward ‘Ed’ Mercer Neel of Hacks Point in Earleville, MD and Tarpon Bay in Port St Lucie, FL passed away suddenly on Friday, December 4, 2020. Ed is survived by his loving wife of 65 years, Dolores; their five children: Eddie, Jimmy, Kate Richard, Virginia Ferver and DeDe Benson. Additionally, he was the proud grandfather (and Pop-Pop) to thirteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

Ed was born on June 27, 1930 in San Francisco, CA as the only child to Eleanor Weister Langlis and grew up in Danville, CA with his grandparents, Hazel and Edward Weister. In 1951 he was drafted into the US Military, and spent two years in Japan as a US Army photographer, which became a lifelong hobby. After returning stateside, Ed earned his undergraduate degree at San Francisco State, where he met the love of his life, and married Dolores Karlo in 1955. In 1958, he moved to Moscow, ID where he earned a masters degree in chemistry at the University of Idaho.

In 1962 the Hewlett Packard Company (formerly F&M Scientific) asked Ed to relocate to Philadelphia, to lead a team in developing a product line of pollution monitoring equipment including gas chromatographs, hydrocarbon and ozone analyzers. A leader in this nacent field, Ed left HP in 1969 to start his own business, ‘Analytical Instrument Development’, to lead an innovative team of designers to develop “portable” pollutant monitoring equipment. A pioneer in the environmental technology world, Ed’s prosperous company was purchased by Thermo-Environmental in 1986 and relocated to Franklin, MA. At this new location, Ed and Dolores moved to the waterfront in Warwick, RI., where they became enchanted with sailing; this became an enduring part of their life together. When Ed turned 63, he and Dolores sailed their boat, Glory, to retirement at Hacks Point, MD. From there, they launched their adventures and ended up with a new residence at Tarpon Bay, in Port St Lucie, FL.

Ed was known for his love of “having a story”. His renewed passion for sailing took him and Dolores from the northern coast of Maine, down the eastern seaboard, through the Caribbean islands and to South America; which always gave him fuel for a “tale to tell”. His other lifelong hobby of rebuilding and restoring cars has always been with him and will always be a part of our life as we knew him. Having lived in many places – all with a story – we found the most notable ones were always the ones on the water. Ed would love to look at the water, watch the boats and just enjoy relaxing in its wonder. Every boat or car he owned, was a part of him. Ed always got them as a project for improvement, and to give it some of his identity, starting with his T-Box Ford Roadster, to his ’55 T-Bird, to his ’72 Pantera and many, many more – they all had his automotive ‘DNA’.

Ed cherished his family and friends. His outgoing demeanor led to many friends, from all walks of life. Ed was a memorable man, who will be dearly missed by those lucky enough to know him.

A private viewing and burial will be held at the convenience of the family. A memorial service will be held later, when all can attend safely, please visit www.rtfoard.com for more information. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Ed’s honor can be made, payable to the “Myasthenia Gravis Foundation” or the “American Heart Association” and sent in care of R.T. Foard Funeral Home, PO Box 27, Chesapeake City, MD 21915.

There will be a memorial service for Ed in late June. If you are interested in attending or would like more information, please contact the family using edneel_memorial@outlook.com