Pleasant J. McNeel, III

Pleasant Jackson McNeel, III (Pleas) was born to the late Martha Moore McNeel and Pleasant J. McNeel, Jr. on November 3, 1939 at Nix Hospital in San Antonio, Texas. He died peacefully in his sleep in San Antonio on September 12, 2024 of complications from COPD.

Pleas was the grandson of Pleasant J. and Lola Kokernot McNeel and Bart and Martha Louise Clifton Moore. His grandfather McNeel owned San Antonio’s noted McNeel Jewelry Company and his grandfather Moore was a contractor whose work included the San Antonio River bypass channel and bridges spanning the river and area creeks.

Pleas had a creative and curious mind, which fueled many endeavors over the course of his life. He was drawn to the work of the beat poets in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, which led to his work with the Eagle Bone Whistle, a San Antonio alternative newspaper (published monthly from 1970 to 1971). Initially signed on as the publication’s movie reviewer, he quickly found himself functioning as publisher and editor of the staunchly anti-Vietnam War newspaper. His work there help to expand his interests to include environmental issues and urban planning. He spent much of his life working to understand the South Texas ecosystem and the interaction of humans with the landscape.

In the early 70s he befriended many local songwriters and musicians, immersing himself in the Texas folk rock culture, culminating in his concept for a Texas historical musical based on his grandmother called “The Balled Of The Beer Cafe”.

He also believed strongly in the power of technology to bring us together and to promote diverse thinking. He was an early advocate of community radio in San Antonio and was one of the first to engage in the process to bring National Public Radio to San Antonio, which was formally established in 1980. He worked for several years teaching video production and working with the San Antonio Media Center. He was a pioneer in home usage of the internet, and was founder of Salsa.net. As access to technology expanded, so did his ideas. In his final months, he delighted in the advancements of AI and Virtual Reality for helping make lives better and more productive.

As a lifelong and self-proclaimed ‘hippie’, he felt that his purpose was to understand and articulate the impact of culture, technology and the environment on how people live their lives and perceive their relationship to the world around them. He was always on the lookout for like minded people and developed a broad network of friends throughout the South Texas music, art, and science communities.

Pleas grew up in San Antonio, and graduated high school from Texas Military Institute in 1956. He joined the US Army and was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany in 1960 and 1961. It was there that he met his first wife, Sieglinde (Linde) Giesle Otto. He was discharged from the Army in the spring of 1961, and married Linde on September 30, 1961 in San Antonio. His only child, Pleasant Jackson McNeel, IV, was born on December 3, 1963. After he and Linde divorced in1978, he married Mary Martha Luke. He was Mary Martha’s side when she died in 2021.

In addition to his parents, grandparents, and wife, he was predeceased by his brother, John Kokernot McNeel and his sister, Martha Clifton McNeel. He is survived by his son Pleasant J. McNeel IV (Catherine) and their children (Elizabeth Clifton and Emma Catherine) and nephew Bart Cash McNeel (Jenna). The family would like to thank Pleas’s friend, Tom Wexler for his active help and kindness in recent years. They also thank the staff of The Inn at Los Patios and Magda’s Senior Home Care for their diligent care and concern in his final months.

A celebration of Pleas’s life will be held on Saturday, December 28, 2024 at 2:30pm at La Fonda on Main (2415 N. Main Avenue, San Antonio, Texas 78212) In lieu of flowers, donations in Pleas’s memory may be made to the charity of your choice.