Neil Douglas Swisher, 81, of Longview, Texas passed away after his fight with cancer on March 10, 2019 with his children by his side. Neil was born on May 30, 1937 in Huntington, West Virginia to Algernon Clermont and Jeanette Irene (Randall) Swisher. The family moved a lot with Al’s job, except for one 10-year stay in South Charleston, WV. It was there that Neil developed a love for playing basketball. Just before his junior year, Al was transferred to Victoria, TX and the family moved again.
Neil played football, basketball and baseball and during his senior year he helped lead the basketball team to their first state championship. The AP reported, "Magnificent Neil Swisher, a whirling dervish with a basketball, led Victoria's Stingarees to their first state schoolboy championship tonight.” He was one of four players who was unanimously chosen on the all-tournament teams. By the end of the season, he had set an all-time scoring record at Patti Welder High School with 658 points for the year. Neil was recruited by universities across the nation. He signed with Texas A&M and began his studies in engineering. He continued to play well and earned various All-Southwest Conference accolades all four years. His senior year he was named MVP by his coach. He set a new A&M scoring mark of 984 points in his 3 years as a varsity player there. Sixty years later he still holds the 2nd place slot for best free throw percentage in a career. In 1994, Neil was selected to the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame.
While a student at A&M, he met Kathleen “Kay” Minor when she was working at Loupot’s Bookstore in College Station. Love blossomed and they were married after his junior year on June 3, 1958 in Kilgore, Texas. He graduated from Texas A&M in May 1959 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Following graduation, Neil got a job as an engineer at Gifford-Hill & Company in Dallas. In 1968 Neil moved the family to Longview and started work at Standard Tool Company as the Vice-President and General Manager. Just 5 years later, Neil and a partner opened up their own shop, East Texas Machine Works and a few years later, Neil became the sole owner of the company. His sons Randy and Timmy joined him in the early 80’s. Over the 46 years since starting the business, the company grew to be one of the largest machine shops in East Texas with a reputation for being a great place to work. He was known as a generous and caring boss. Neil eventually retired and relinquished the reins to Randy, who still runs the company today.
Neil was also an excellent carpenter. In Richardson he built their house from the ground up. When the kids were young, he bought an old school bus and transformed it into an RV that the family used for trips. In the late 70's the family bought acreage north of Longview. They moved an old house to the ranch, and he completely gutted it and renovated it. He also built a barn there and as their children began to graduate, it was here that the couple started raising quarter horses.
In his adult life, Neil enjoyed continuing to play basketball in city leagues, golfing, fishing, working crossword puzzles, going to the horse races and watching his horses run. He liked playing cards, whether it was bridge, hearts, or occasionally Blackjack in Vegas. He also enjoyed playing Fantasy Football with friends and family. He and Kay loved taking trips to the mountains, especially Banff and Colorado. After several trips to Colorado, the couple bought a bed and breakfast in Durango and operated it for several years. They also loved going on family trips with their kids and grandkids and attending their sporting events and other special occasions.
Neil and Kay had 4 children and were very supportive of their endeavors. He was a hard working, quiet man who always provided for his family and set a great example for them to follow.
He is survived by his children: Randy (Jamie) Swisher of Longview, Jennifer (John E.) McStravick of Tomball, TX, Laura Swisher of Houston, TX; grandchildren: Trent Swisher of Durango, CO, Audra (Drew) Sabin of Baton Rouge, LA, Zack Simons of Longview, Kathleen McStravick of Houston, TX, Robert (Holly) McStravick of Dallas, TX, and Ann Marie McStravick of Tomball. Neil was preceded in death by his wife Kay, his son Timothy Patrick Swisher and a brother, Jack. The family would like to thank the staff at HeartsWay Hospice, Heartis Assisted Living and Tammy Lundy for their care for Neil during the past few months.
While Neil’s physical presence will be missed by those who knew him, we are comforted to know his spirit has gone to be with God in heaven. Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 16 at the Chapel of Lakeview Funeral Home in Longview.
Flowers are permitted or in lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to the Texas A&M 12th Man Foundation, directed to the Men’s Basketball Program under the specific sports donation area noting in the “Add Comment” area “In memory of Neil D. Swisher, ’59.”
