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George Theodore ‘Ted’ Neu was
born and raised in Georgetown, OH, where he graduated as
valedictorian of his Georgetown High School class of 1950. Selected
for appointment to West Point he joined the USMA Class of 1954. A
serious and successful student, Ted helped other C-1 classmates with
their academic challenges during their four years. That
collaborative attitude and allegiance toward his classmates was also
demonstrated as he served as the C-1 guidon bearer helping us keep
in touch throughout both active duty and retirement years.
Upon graduation, Ted joined the Armor branch. Later
at Fort Knox, he met ‘Betty’ Watkins, whom he married in 1960. The
Army took them initially to Verdun, France and then to Nurnberg,
Germany, where they lived at the time the Berlin Wall went up in
1961. Upon return to the States, Ted commanded a tank company in the
35th Armor Brigade. Ted’s career then changed direction when he
became one of the first pilots in our class and transferred to the
Transportation Corps. A short time on the staff and faculty at the
Transportation School was followed by flight duty in RVN where he
served with the 58th Transportation Battalion.
Ted earned a master’s degree in aeronautical
engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, after
which he was assigned as Director of Systems Engineering at Aviation
Systems Command (AVSCOM). While there, he was the project officer
responsible for developing a crash-worthy fuel cell for helicopters.
Ted’s second short tour was with the equipment delivery team in
Cambodia. He returned to AVSCOM initially as Deputy Chief of
Development and then as Deputy Director for RD&E. He retired from
active duty in 1975. Always a contributor, some of Ted’s awards
included a CM, MSM, JSCM, LM, 2 BSMs and 2 AMs.
Upon retiring, Ted and family moved to Simsbury, CT
where he began his civilian career as an engineer with Kaman
Aerospace Corp. in Bloomfield, CT. During his 18 years with Kaman,
Ted advanced from Research Engineer to Project Manager. Among other
challenges was being Karman’s Project Manager for their portion of
the B-1 program. Ted also served for 20 years as a member of
Simsbury’s Zoning Commission.
Ted maintained strong loyalty throughout his life to
the Academy, Army football, classical music, conservative politics
and Cincinnati sports teams (late in life he also embraced the
Washington Redskins as his own). He loved ice cream and rainy days,
taking special delight in quoting Murphy’s Law as his personal
creed. Ted’s engineering skill combined with an unusually
well-developed sense of frugality resulted in more than 20-plus
years of service from his classic VW Beetle. He also had a largely
futile lifelong mission to promote usage of the International
Phonetic Alphabet. In his later years, he fought his toughest
battle, Parkinson’s disease, attributable to exposure to Agent
Orange in Vietnam. He faced this last frustrating challenge with
strength, dignity and the enduring support of his lifelong partner
Betty.
Ted was a caring husband, loving father, indulgent
grandparent, loyal friend and supporter of the Academy. He has
earned an honored place in the Long Gray Line. It can be said, “Well
Done, Be Thou at Peace.”
He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Watkins Neu,
son Erik and daughter-in-law Beth of Woodbury, MN; daughter Noelle
of Reston, VA; and three grand-children: Anna-Claire, Ainslee and
Seth Neu of Woodbury, MN.
— Dave Thoreson ’54, and family |
