Neil Joseph Raven

Raven, Neil Joseph of Atlanta, Georgia passed away peacefully at home on December 10, 2022 following a courageous two year battle with lung cancer. Neil continued to strive to get better and stronger up until the very end and never complained or lost faith that God was in control and would take care of him and those who loved him.

Neil was born in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia on September 13, 1939 but his family soon moved east to the town of Bairnsdale, Victoria where his grandfather was the Police Sargeant. He and his parents lived for a time in the Police Station housing with his grandfather and Neil’s father was a baker. Before long, as the family welcomed Neil’s two sisters, they moved into a home just on the outskirts of Bairnsdale where they had a large chicken farm. Neil spent an idyllic youth, going to school, being an alter boy in the Anglican church, and swimming and fishing in the river. A minister in the church realized Neil’s talent for the piano and encouraged his parents to support Neil in expanding his skills. To that end, first his parents purchased an old pedal organ from the church and put it at the foot of Neil’s bed so he could practice. When he was twelve, they purchased a piano for him which he moved to America when he relocated. In his early teens, he started getting jobs to play the piano for various functions, something he continued to do for the rest of his life. Neil also enjoyed learning about the mechanics of how things function and became quite adept at taking apart radios, cars, just about anything mechanical and putting them back together. Therefore his formal education was completed at a technical school as opposed to a college-prep school.

After he completed technical school, his family moved again to a suburb of Melbourne where his father went to work for the State of Victoria Egg Board. At that point, Neil began working at an insurance company where he was an inspector who visited factories and other business operations to verify their insurability. He continued this work for 20+ years but also played the piano professionally with bands and solo piano. Music was such a major part of his life that it is no wonder that he met and fell in love with Phyllis, who had a beautiful voice and sang professionally. Neil and Phyl soon married, and Neil happily became father to Phyl’s two children, Debbie and Mark. Soon after, Debbie and Mark were joined by sister, Jacqui and brother, Barry. The family settled into a lovely life filled with music, friends, and joy. Sadly, this came to an end when their youngest son became ill at age twelve with an untreatable, terminal illness. The marriage did not survive this heartache but Neil remained close to the 3 surviving children.

Following these life changing events, Neil chose to leave the insurance field and concentrate full-time on his music. He began teaching piano as well as playing regularly for events. In 1984, Neil decided it was time to see the world so he left Australia to spend 1 year travelling, going first to S.E. Asia, then on to India, the Middle East, Europe and finally America. Soon after arriving in America, he travelled to Washington, D.C. where he met Susan who was visiting from Tallahassee, FL. They ended up standing next to each other while in line to go on the tour of the White House. This was the beginning of a magical courtship and long distance relationship that lasted 8 years until finally in 1992 they married at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church and made their home in Atlanta. Sadly, a few months after they married, Neil’s beautiful daughter, Jacqui passed away. However, tragedy has only brought the family closer together and Susan and Neil loved every opportunity they had to return to Australia to be with family and friends. After moving to the U.S., Neil continued to teach piano and play professionally. He obtained his U.S. citizenship and was able to also retain his Australian citizenship. In addition, he and Susan invested in the real estate market, purchasing a number of rental houses that Neil managed and maintained.

After being baptized as a baby in the Presbyterian church and being an altar boy in the Anglican church, Neil was baptized by immersion at Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church and he and Susan embraced their new church home. They were members of the Sanctuary Choir and active members of the New Covenant Sunday School class. Neil enjoyed sharing his musical talent and piano skills with the church and was also very disciplined in keeping himself fit in the Family Life Center. After Susan’s retirement, they were able to indulge their passion for travel. They visited Australia several times, plus went to China, Japan, Alaska, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Russia, a couple of trips through the former eastern bloc European countries as well as Ireland.

Neil had a creative sense of humor and people often talked about how he made them laugh. He was a loyal friend who will be missed by so many whose lives were made richer by knowing Neil. He will live in the hearts of all who knew him forever. Neil leaves behind his wife of 30 years, Susan Raven, his daughter, Debbie (Geoff) Willison, his son, Mark (Belinda) Jones, his sister, Joan Markby, his brother-in-law, Bill Treloar and his sister-in-law, Lane (Kurt) Witter. In addition, Neil has a large number of extended family members in America and Australia whom he loved deeply. Predeceasing Neil were his parents, Frank and Shirley Raven, children, Jacqueline Raven and Barry Raven, sister, Marjorie Treloar, and brother-in-law, Bruce Markby.

Funeral services will be held in the sanctuary of Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church on Friday, December 16 at 2:00 p.m. Visitation will be held at the church for 1 hour prior to the service. Interment will be at Arlington Memorial Cemetery Mausoleum in Sandy Springs immediately following the funeral. Memorial donations in Neil’s name may be made to Second Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree St NE, Atlanta, GA 30305.