NEIL B. HADLEY
Neil Blaine Hadley, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away Sept. 3, 2019, at the age of 90.
Born in Iowa in 1928 to Ben and Grace Hadley, Neil left the Midwest to serve in the Air Force, and in the process traveled the world and earned a doctorate in hospital administration. He never lost a certain Midwestern reserve, but underneath his quiet demeanor ran deep interests, loyalties and loves — for antique clocks and Audubon prints, for basketball, for dogs, and especially for his wife, Joan, and four children, Jerry, Terry, Nancy and Randy.
Neil’s father died when he was six months old, and consequently he learned at a young age to work hard. He never forgot the lesson. Even after he retired, he was known to dig ditches and tackle other demanding home improvement projects well into his 70s.
Neil found the partner, Joan Sauter, for his most important project – starting and raising a family – while teaching and coaching in Iowa. Girls’ high school basketball brought them together, he as the coach, she as the team chaperone. He admired Joan’s steadiness, strong faith, and love of family. Joan turned down his first proposal, but he tried again after joining the Air Force and, more importantly to Joan, the Catholic Church. They were married in 1951.
Neil’s Air Force career took the family around the U.S. and across the Atlantic. He and Joan were curious and intrepid travelers. During stints in England, they drove the kids (and a sock monkey named Monk-Monk) around Europe for weeks at a time. In addition to the major sites, their itineraries often included – due in part to their shared Midwestern frugality – operating factories and workshops: entertaining, educational and inexpensive.
The family came back to the U.S. and settled in the D.C. area. Always supportive of his kids, Neil particularly made time for their athletic endeavors: Jerry’s track meets, Terry’s soccer matches, Randy’s football games. He and Joan were known to drive all weekend to see Nancy’s college crew races.
Dogs were also important members of the family. Over the years they rarely lived without one, but special favorites included Champ the German shepherd, Jack and Jill the Pembroke corgis, Heidi the dachshund, and Toffees I, 2 and 3 the Cardigan corgis.
Neil retired from the Air Force in 1979 and moved into private-sector hospital administration and consulting, a second career that brought him to Africa, Saudi Arabia, Florida and California. He eventually worked in medical ethics training, a field especially suited to his strong principles, capacity for self-reflection, and ability to connect personally with all sorts of people, from hospital presidents to janitors.
Neil cared lovingly for Joan when she became sick until she died in 2002. We are grateful that he is now with his beloved wife and free of the constraints of this world. He will be deeply missed by his children Jerry Hadley (Kate), Terry Hadley (Eugenia), Nancy Hadley Miller, and Randy Hadley; grandchildren Michael Hadley, Elizabeth Hadley, Cecilia Hadley, John Hadley, Claire Hadley, Peter Hadley, Meghan Hadley, Timothy Hadley, Gregory Hadley, Alexander Hadley, Christopher Hadley, Stephen Hadley, Lauren Hadley Goldsworth, Kevin Hadley, Daisy Miller, Abigail Miller Macias, and Benjamin Miller; great-grandchildren Camden, Thomas, Jude, Olivia, Christopher, William, Rose, Grace, Samuel, Zachary, Gideon, Elora, and Michael.
By Cecilia Hadley
Relatives and friends may call at Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Boulevard West, Silver Spring, MD, (Valet Parking), Thursday September 12, from7 to 9 p.m. and 10 to 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 9200 Kentsdale Drive, Potomac, MD, on Friday September 13, 2019 where Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Interment immediately following at St. Gabriel’s Cemetery.
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Thuy-Phuong Pham
