- Date Of Birth: July 10, 1926
- Date Of Death: May 9, 2012
- State: Kentucky
Peter Thurman McNeill, Jr., 85, of Flemingsburg, Kentucky, died Wednesday, May 9, 2012, at his home with his family by his side after a long illness. He was born on July 10, 1926 in West Jefferson, North Carolina. He was one of ten children born to Martha Fletcher and Peter Thurman McNeill, Sr.
He grew up on a small family dairy farm in Ashe County, North Carolina. At the age of 17, he joined the U.S. Navy, and served on an amphibious assault ship in the South Pacific theater during World War II, from 1944 to 1946. After returning from the war, he went to Berea College, Berea, Ky. on the GI Bill. There, as one granddaughter wrote, “He heard my grandmamma singin’ a song.” That was Anna Lou Planck of Fleming County, Ky. Pete and Anna Lou married on the Berea College campus on June 4, 1950. Shortly thereafter, Pete obtained his B.S. degree in General Agriculture.
Pete and Anna Lou then moved to his beloved Ashe County, North Carolina, where he farmed, taught vocational agriculture, and they had the first two of their five children. In 1953, Pete and Anna Lou moved to Fleming County, Ky., where he farmed and then worked as the County Agricultural Extension Agent. In 1959, Pete was employed by the Fleming-Mason Rural Electrification Cooperative in their Power Use and Member Services Program. It was during this time, two leaves of absence were taken to do special projects. In late 1964, he was part of a six-month power study team in South Korea. Then, from June 1, 1967 to June 30, 1969 he and the family relocated to Thailand where Pete was a representative of the Cooperative League of the USA. This assignment was to assist the Royal Thai Government in restructuring agricultural cooperatives and in establishing a National Cooperative Training Center.
Subsequent to living in Thailand, the family returned to Kentucky for a few years. From 1970 to 1974, Pete was the General Manager of Bluegrass Rural Electrification Cooperative in Nicholasville, Ky. But, the opportunity to work overseas presented itself again, and in October 1974, Pete became the National Rural Electrification Cooperative Association (NRECA) Team Leader in the Philippines. In six years, 97 electric cooperatives were formed, management was trained, and one million consumer/members were provided with dependable electric power. In February 1980, there was a move to Indonesia where Pete was again the NRECA Team Leader, supervising eight specialists and their teams.
Pete returned once more to Fleming County, Kentucky, in the fall of 1982, where he managed a family-owned general farming operation raising sheep, beef cattle, tobacco, and hardwood timber. He also worked as an Economic Development Specialist for Morehead State University, Morehead, Ky., from August 1984 to July 1991, when he retired from public work. However, Pete still felt the call to do international projects, and he did numerous short-term assignments that combined agricultural knowledge and cooperative management principles. He did much work in the former Soviet Bloc countries, and covered various projects that over the years took place on five of the seven continents (Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America), and in over 20 different countries.
Wherever he was, Pete thought of ways to serve others and was mindful of conservation and environmental issues. These efforts were recognized in many ways. Pete was a charter member of the Fleming County Chamber of Commerce. That entity named him Fleming County’s Outstanding Citizen in 1962 and again in the year 2001. To date, he is the only person to receive this honor twice in his lifetime. In 1986, he was Kentucky’s Tree Farmer of the Year, and in 1988, he was the National Outstanding Tree Farmer. He is the only Kentuckian to date to have this honor. He was honored with the Friend of Extension Award from the University of Kentucky in 1998. He received the Buffalo Trace Area Development District’s Community Leadership Award in 2000. There were international honors, too. Pete received the Golden Heart Award from the Philippine government in February 1980 for contribution to the country’s development. In January 2002, he was named an Outstanding International Volunteer by ACDI/VOCA (Agricultural Cooperative Development International and Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance). From Berea College, he was named the Berea Outstanding Alumni in 2007 and several years earlier, he and his brother Bob McNeill were awarded the Berea Service Award from the College Board of Trustees. This is the only time two brothers have received such an honor jointly.
Pete was a member of the Flemingsburg First United Methodist Church, where over his lifetime, he served as Sunday School teacher, Chairman of the Board, Lay Leader, and other positions on the local and district levels. He was active in the local Gideons Camp, and a strong supporter of the Ruggles Camp Methodist Men. He did two trips to Costa Rica with Volunteers in Mission Teams.
Service to his community came in many ways. He was Chairman of the Fleming County Industrial Board. He gave 52 years as a leader with the University of Kentucky Extension Service. Pete served on the Fleming County Extension Council, the District Board, and the State Extension Advisory Council. He served as a member on the Regional Committee on Aging and Senior Citizens’ concerns, worked with local tourism committees, worked statewide to evaluate outdoor classrooms, encouraged Girl Scouts, 4-H members, and school groups supporting conservation efforts. Pete traveled on mission trips with college students, along with many other interests. He was the Kentucky Woodland Owners Association (KOWA) Treasurer at the time of his death.
Pete had a strong Christian faith that was evident to the end of his days. He loved his family and the land. He was interested in every person he met, no matter their station in life. His life exemplified the words of the song, “You Raise Me Up.”
Pete is survived by his wife of 61 years, Anna Lou Planck McNeill. He is also survived by his children Marsha (Frank) McCartney of Flemingsburg, Ky., Dr. Samuel G. (Helen) McNeill of Paducah, Ky., Dr. Judy Linger (Dr. Joe Weissman) of Annandale, NJ, Martha Lou McNeill of Washington, D.C., and Peter Andrew “Drew” (Mary Ellen) McNeill of Morehead, Ky.; 12 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; a sister, Anne Garwood of North Wilkesboro, NC; sister-in-law, Freda (Bob) McNeill of West Jefferson, NC; and several nieces and nephews.
