YOUR AD HERE »

Vail Daily obituary: James M. McNeil, 1950-2016

James M. McNeil passed away at 66 years old on Aug. 15, 2016, of a heart attack at his home in Eagle.

He is survived by his loving wife, Anne McNeil; daughters, Lauren McNeil, Taura Way and Shayna Wyasket; granddaughters, Tessa and Eliza Way, Campbell and Cassandra Wyasket; brothers Bill, John and Tom McNeil; and sister Elaine McNeil. He is preceded in death by his son, Luke D. McNeil, and his parents, Murall and Irene McNeil.

Jim was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on March 25, 1950, and lived in Germany, Japan and Washington, D.C., before settling in Lincoln after his father retired from his career in the Army. He went to high school at East High in Lincoln and graduated from the University of Nebraska with a business and civil engineering degree.

Jim and Anne met in college in 1975 and married in Aspen on May 15, 1980. They moved to Los Angeles, where Jim started his career at L.A. Water District. From there, they moved to Denver, where he worked for KKBNA Engineering. He then had the opportunity to partner with three other engineers and started Alpine Engineering in Edwards in October 1988. It was a dream come true for him; he loved the business, living in the mountains and raising his family here.

He was passionate about his family, animals, football and old war movies. He was active in both Luke and Lauren’s sports and school activities and enjoyed driving Luke’s high school’s football team equipment to out-of-town games. “He made the world a better place by just being in it.” The memorial service will be decided in the future.

Support Local Journalism

Donations can be made to the Eagle County Animal Services and the Suicide Prevention Charity.


Support Local Journalism