Born in Savannah, GA on December 12, 1945 to John Howard Neely, IV and Helen Neely (nee Domhoff), John Howard Neely, V grew up outside of Pittsburgh in Whitehall, PA.  His father was an attorney, his mother a homemaker, and it was a lovely childhood with trips to Sherwood Forest in the summers.  He went to Shady Side Academy for high school and Princeton University for college, graduating in 1967.  The day after he graduated, he married his first wife, Caroline Kaneko, and they were married for close to a decade.  Within a year, he was drafted into the army and deployed with a sense of duty to country and a sense of righteousness – it wasn't right that poorer, Blacker, and browner young men were fighting and losing their lives, and that young men like him (white, college educated, connected) were not.  He joined the 101st Airborne Division and soon became the platoon reporter.  He was wounded in battle but completed his tour and returned to the US in 1969 to attend Harvard Law School.  His first son, John, VI was born in 1972.

John's specialty was environmental law and after a period in Denver, he returned to Massachusetts to work for the Commonwealth, helping to site power plants and develop early recycling laws.  He took a job working for Christine Sullivan who was the Secretary of Consumer Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  Soon he left that job so he could date Christine and they were married on May 21, 1977.  They lived in Salem, MA and in 1979 welcomed a daughter, Abigail, and in 1982 another son, William.  Though they left Salem in 1987 to educate their children, it was always home, and they returned less than a month after their youngest graduated from high school.  In those years he worked in consulting and banking.

John and Christine were married for close to forty years until her death in 2016.  John later met Candace Mesa and enjoyed five years of adventures in Utah and Massachusetts, endured the pandemic, and shared their families, joys, and sorrows.

In addition to his work as an attorney and a consultant, John had many interests.  He loved military history and did a significant amount of research on famed Civil War veteran, Joshua Chamberlain, for a book he wanted to write.  He loved Shakespeare and spent a decade seeing almost all of his plays performed in venues from local high schools to the Globe Theater in London.  And more recently, he had returned to stamp collecting, picking up where his father had left off more than four decades prior.

He also loved what his children loved.  He learned to ski in his 30s with John, who quickly surpassed his skill level.  And then took an interest in all things outdoors, the environment, and even extreme sports thanks to John.  He came to love Africa, radical politics, historical houses, and Third World travel with his daughter, Abby.  He was drawn to classical music, Broadway Theater, Baroque art, and even Fabergé eggs thanks to his son, Will.  He was – he is – an exceptional father.  From airport rides at all hours, to last-minute trips all over the country and world to help his children, to teaching us all what unconditional love meant, it was in fatherhood that he really excelled.  And he carried this forward to his grandchildren who he took on adventures (often on public transportation), doted on, and reveled in.

John Howard Neely, V is survived by his three children John (Justine) Neely, Abigail (Alexander Breslaw) Neely, and William Neely, four grandchildren Rose, Koji, Liam, and Theo, his partner Candace Mesa, and two sisters, Shirley Brown and Mary Lou Everett.

A funeral will take place on June 17 at 10:30am at the Tabernacle Church, 50 Washington St., Salem, MA.  Visiting hours from 4 to 7pm at Murphy's Funeral Home, 85 Federal St., Salem, MA on June 16, 2023.

In lieu of flowers donations in John's name may be sent to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) or its Foundation or to the Salem Rotary, PO Box 608, Salem, MA 01970.  For more information or online guestbook, please visit www.MurphyFuneralHome.com or call 978-744-0497.