Shirley Anne Neill

Shirley Anne Neill (nee Adamson) of Raleigh, NC passed away on Friday, June 12, 2020 in her apartment under Home Instead and Transitions Hospice care. She was born on June 16, 1928 in Omaha, Nebraska. Her parents were Holton N. and Birdie (nee Bruce) Adamson. She is survived by a son, Richard Mitchell, and his spouse Mary (nee Swarr) of Raleigh, NC and a daughter, Shirley Mitchell, of Tucson, AZ. She was preceded in death by her husband, Boyd (Gene) Neill, of Mesa, AZ and a daughter, Jennie Carnes, of Cottonwood, AZ. She is also survived by four grandchildren. Adam and Paul Mitchell of Raleigh, NC, Jerret Carnes of Phoenix, AZ and Rose Barnett of Tucson, AZ. She will be interred with her late husband in the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix.

Shirley lived a very full life. She was born and lived her early life in Omaha. As the spouse of an Air Force member, she lived in Sherman and Denison TX, Wichita Falls, TX, Sault Ste Marie, MI, Tokyo, Japan, and Mesa, AZ. After her husband's death, she moved to Cottonwood, AZ and finally to Raleigh, NC. She was proud to have lived in so many places and the furniture of her household certainly told the story of living in Japan.

Shirley worked for the US Federal Government, Department of the Air Force, for 20 years. She was a Personal Affairs Officer which meant counseling armed forces members and dependents about their benefits. She would be in the office at 2 AM, if necessary, to type up next of kin notifications. She saw that as a necessary but unpleasant part of her job. She did find great satisfaction in guiding the surviving dependents in regards to their benefits.

Shirley was an avid NASCAR fan. She had a room with walls covered in NASCAR collectables. She had a number 88 car collection arrayed in front of her TV. She had season tickets to Phoenix International Raceway, camping in a wagon circle with friends, and also enjoyed the local dirt tracks. She always said NASCAR racing was more than just the race itself as it was enjoying a weekend with like minded friends. She drove her RV out from Arizona to North Carolina every year from age 64 to 80 to go to the October races in Charlotte. She said she was coming out to see us, but we knew. More recently it was watching ALL the races on TV every week and then looking at reruns when the racing season was not on.

Shirley loved dachshunds. She cared for many rescue ones during her life and they provided her companionship and great comfort.

Shirley was friendly to all she met and will be greatly missed. She had friends throughout the US including California, Oregon, and Missouri.

Services held locally for Shirley will be private. Interment will take place on Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 11 am at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, where she will be laid to rest next to her late husband, Boyd Harvey Neill.