Roy L. Neely Roy L. Neely

Roy L. Neely from Naples, Idaho, passed away quietly in his sleep on May 30, 2020, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Roy was born on Jan. 29, 1950, in Los Angeles, Calif. He was adopted through the LA Children’s Home Society by Leonard Leroy Neely and Chesna Irene Neely. Roy grew up with his adopted sister, Candace Banks, in Woodland Hills and Riverside, Calif.

He attended Ramona High School in Riverside, graduating in June 1968. He later attended and graduated from Riverside City College with his associate degree. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Mineman and also started working at AT&T as a lineman in the late 1960s.

Roy married Debra Taylor, then a resident of Riverside, in September 1972. Several years later they had a son. Dirk currently resides in California.

After completing the active duty portion of his Navy commitment, he decided to stay in the Reserves. He was part of MOMAG Detachment 2419, located in Long Beach, Calif. He eventually obtained the rank of master chief, or E9. During his service he traveled extensively, serving at times in many locations, including Charleston, S.C., Guam, Scotland, Hawaii, Long Beach, Okinawa, Washington, D.C., and Misawa, Japan.

He served on many chief selection boards in Washington, D.C., during the 1980s. For several years, he was a member of the Naval Policy Review Board in Washington, D.C. And in 1986 he attended and graduated from the Senior Enlisted Academy in Newport, R.I. Roy eventually served as the command master chief for the Reserve Center in Long Beach. He retired in 1995. He was proud to serve his country and enjoyed the many fine people he met and worked with during his two years of service.

In addition to his Navy commitment Roy worked at AT&T. He started as a lineman working in the desert of Southern California. Over the years he had many other job titles including repairman, line assigner and installer. As technology advanced at AT&T, so did Roy. One of his final assignments was working on installing and repairing high speed technology services for businesses. Whatever the job, he loved his work. He has a good sense of humor and enjoyed working with his teammates. After 49 years of service he retired in September 2018.

Roy had many passions and was always involved in something. He was an avid scuba diver, even became a certified dive instructor, and obtained a black belt in Aikido. His favorite activities included spending time with family, his dogs and friends on the water in one of the several boats he owned during his lifetime.

Roy always enjoyed the outdoors, with favorite activities including boating, kayaking, camping, hiking, backpacking, running, biking and snowshoeing. Northern Idaho seemed the perfect place to pursue these activities. In 2010, he and Debbie purchased a home in Naples. When Roy retired in 2018, they moved permanently to Naples, where he continued to pursue his hobbies and activities. Unfortunately, he passed much too soon from cancer, leaving his wife, son, sister and other family members to remember his larger-than-life presence and his hearty laugh.

Services will be held later in the summer and his ashes spread in the Pacific Ocean near some of his favorite dive spots. Roy requested that he be memorialized by making a donation to the Panhandle Animal Shelter in Ponderay, Idaho.

Family and friends are invited to sign Roy’s online guest book at coffeltfuneral.com.

Arrangements are under the care of Coffelt Funeral Service.