To my  oldest nephew.  You are one of kind young man  .  From the day I saw you.  I knew you would be a great person.  You will always be alive in my heart.  Someday are paths will cross again.. until then R.I.P. Love always your UNCLE MIKE  and family

I love you buddy.  You're a fantastic dude.  Im crying right now but I hope youre happy and thriving in heaven at the same time.  You've touched so many lives for the better and ill always look up to you.

My dear friend Oliver, hearing about your passing absolutely shattered me, my heart aches knowing that you are no longer with us. You were such an amazing friend and light up every room you’d walk into, thank you for all the smiles and laughs. I’m thankful to have gotten to know you <3 
Love you Ollie.

My deepest condolences to the family and prayers for healing and staying strong throughout these hard times. May god help you guys with the pain and give you the strength to get through it

Brenden crew at Alyssa and Tyler’s wedding, Ollie always showed up for our big events. ❤️

My deepest condolences to Ollie’s family. He was a light in our lives. ❤️

I met Oliver when I was a teenager in 2002, at my 1st job at Brenden Theaters. He started after I did, he was older than me by 5 years. I always enjoyed working with Oliver while we worked together. He was always kind and respectful. I remember he would ride his bike to work which I don’t know how he did it everyday but he did. He always had a positive attitude and I never seen him upset/mad. He would wish me a happy birthday every year on social media.   My brothers and I worked with him at different times at Brenden theaters and he was able to meet most of my family and they all thought very highly of Oliver. He will be missed and I will miss reading the happy birthdays from him. I pray for him, his family and loved ones to have peace and comfort. Rest in peace Oliver! 🙏🏼

I met Oliver when I was 15. 

My sister had just gotten a job at Brenden. After her first couple of weeks working there, she told us about this really nice guy that worked there named Oliver. 

The next time my family went to see a movie together, she made a point to introduce us to him. He smiled wide and shook hands and said “Hi, I’m Ollie, and I like long walks on the beach.” 

My mom still talks about that to this day. 

That’s who Ollie was. Always warm. Big smile. Trying to get you to smile big too. He was just like that. 

I’d end up working at Brenden a couple years later. I got to work with Ollie in pretty much every shift imaginable at that job. I remember him most as a projectionist though.

He’s the guy who makes the movies actually happen. It’s dark and no other staff members are up there as you shuffle between screens, winding and threading projectors to get ready for the next showing to begin. There were usually big gaps after starting the movies where there wasn’t as much to do. 

It gets lonely up there. Isolating. 

Ollie used to joke that he was haunting the place. Maybe that’s why we had multiple ghost hunters asked to scan the property over the years, but I digress. Ollie wasn’t haunting the theater. He was a fixture there. An institution. He was part of the DNA of the theater and it wouldn’t have been the same without him.

I miss seeing him in the break room and just spending half an hour chatting with him up there. We lamented how bad our sports teams were. Ranked fast food restaurants. Played ping pong poorly. It was a nice break from the chaos of the concession stand or the frustration of sweeping up another packed theater.

The most admirable thing about Ollie was that he cared. He remembered birthdays. He got gifts for peoples’ kids. If you were having a bad day, he’d offer to buy your favorite candy from the concession stand. Even with the obscene markup! He genuinely cared about the people he worked with.

I worked with Oliver at Brenden Theaters for nearly 10 years. Across those 10 years, I can honestly say I never saw him in a bad mood. It could have been the most stressful of work days, and he didn't let it get to him. He rode his bike to work every single day, and still had the energy to exude positivity to everyone around him.

I'll never forget the day he decided to buy me lunch. It was completely unsolicited; he was just being Oliver. A good man with a good heart. It's been years since I had spoken to him, but he still entered my thoughts from time to time. In tumultuous times, we need more people like Oliver. I'll see you on the other side someday.

OBITUARY

Oliver Boaz Neal IV

15 June, 1980 – 24 October, 2025

Lakewood Funeral Home & Memorial Park

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