Command Sergeant Major Roy Alan Neve, USA Ret.
October 15, 1937 – August 28, 2017

Roy Alan Neve, 79, died peacefully at the home of his son, Roy Leonardo Neve & daughter-in-law, Amanda Rivera Neve, in Seguin, Texas after an extended battle with Alzheimer's. He had enjoyed a remarkable life of adventure, service & family. Born in London, England to Leonard & Olive Neve, he & his elder sister, Doreen Boyer (nee: Neve) grew up in the London of World War II & the family were bombed out of two homes. Forced to move to the suburbs, the family again survived in a house damaged by a V-2 rocket strike.
He graduated from the Royal Liberty Grammar School in Gidea Park, England & the Ford Trade School in Dagenham, England. After graduation, he served as an engineering officer aboard ships of the South American Saint Line plying routes between England & the New World. After leaving a ship in Canada, he eventually made his way south to rejoin his sister then living in Virginia. There, as a ballroom dance instructor with Arthur Murray Dance Studio, Norfolk, he was unaware of the dangers of dancing with African American women in the American South at that time & left to enlist in the US Army in Norfolk in early 1959.
Returning to his post in France from family leave in England, he met Pilar Lazaro Frias in Paris, travelling from England to Spain. Within weeks, he had found her again, learned Spanish, & proposed. They were married in Granada, Spain on 12 October 1961. They remained inseparable for 56 years until his death. During his 27-year Army career, he served all over the US & several times in Germany, Okinawa, & France during the Cold War, & in Vietnam. He was awarded the Bronze Star medal with oak leaf cluster; Meritorious Service Medal w/ 2 oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal w/ 2 oak leaf clusters, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal w/ 2 bronze stars, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Army Meritorious Unit Citation & Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation. He retired on 31 Aug 86 in the rank of Command Sergeant Major. After retirement, he fully enjoyed his hobbies of landscaping & travelling, but most of all his close-knit family.
Emblematic of his sense of service was his membership in the Big Brothers Mentorship Program and similar community organizations throughout his life.
He is survived by his wife, Pilar; son, Roy, wife Amanda Neve (nee: Rivera); daughter Blanca Matilda Neve, husband Larry Carson; beloved granddaughter Paloma Neve-Carson; elder sister, Doreen younger brother Trevor Neve, wife Deborah Neve (nee: Wiltse); & cousins & friends around the world. His was a life of service to country but above all a life devoted to family & friends. Many will mourn him.
His ashes will be buried at a service open to all at Fort Sam Houston's National Cemetery at 9:30am, Tuesday, 5 September 2017 with Rev. Alex Easley officiating and full military honors.