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J. Asher Neel Remembered
by Arlie Davenport Jr., Forth Worth, Texas
I first met Asher in 1978. He was joining his father in the family business and I was a young man who was having some success in the same area Asher was entering, so Bob put me on Asher's list of people to visit. Never could I have imagined that such a simple meeting would develop into such a wonderful friendship. We sometimes remember small things, and I remember looking under the table and noticing that Asher and I were wearing identical shoes. I always felt he and I were marching in the same direction.
I had great fun with Asher. Several years ago Asher and I were guests of Tim Brammer for snow skiing in Snowshoe, West Virginia. After a few days of fun we said our goodbyes and Asher drove off for a long drive to the airport in Roanoke, Virginia. Tim drove Juleigh and me a good distance in the opposite direction to the airport in Charleston, West Virginia.
It required us to take a circuitous route from Dallas-Fort Worth to reach Snowshoe and we did not realize that our flight home would land for more passengers in, of all places, Roanoke. As I looked out the window at the line of people waiting to board, at the end of the queue I saw Asher. It was hilarious. I instructed Juleigh to remain silent and let Asher discover us on his own. We watched him walk down the aisle checking his ticket and looking for his seat. There was an empty seat next to Juleigh on the aisle and that was the very seat Asher had been assigned. It was unbelievable. We laughed all the way to Florida, dropped Asher, and flew home. I have always felt that Asher and I were on the same "plane," the same wavelength.
We are here today, and there are hearts across the country here with us today, because of the gifts we received from Asher. He gave me his friendship, the kind where you could be together, not say a word and have a good time. He gave me his counsel; a friendship that began with him seeking my counsel developed into one where I sought his. He gave me his dynamic leadership, his energy, his kindness, his laughter, his wonderfully positive attitude -- and he delighted in giving me a drubbing on the golf course.
Throughout all of our years of golf, Asher always asked me the same thing on the first hole: "Same bet?" The same bet was $5 on the front nine, $5 on the back nine and $5 on the eighteen.
A few years back Asher and Tim Brammer found themselves in Fort Worth and I arranged a foursome on the course that Ben Hogan built, the Colonial Country Club. As a matter of fact, the Colonial is being played this weekend. If you happen to see it on television this weekend, think of Asher. Especially if you see play on the 18th hole.
As our foursome approached the 18th at Colonial, Asher and I were even on the front and back nine bets, I was one-up on the 18-hole bet, and only needed to tie the hole to win. My drive was in the fairway. Asher pushed his drive to the treeline on the right. I hit the green with my second shot and Asher landed in a greenside sand trap. I needed only two putts for par and a victory, I thought. That son-of-a-gun hit out of the sand and the ball rolled in the hole for a birdie. He won the hole.
Asher gave so much of himself to his work, to the industry and to his family. As has already been stated, I never heard him say no to a request for help. He was honest, gentle, a wonderful father and an inspiration to us all. It all adds up to a wonderful legacy for his family. Asher's life was a gift for me and for you. He was our gift, our gift from God.
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