Dick passed away Thursday morning following a courageous battle for his life.   He is the son of Donald and Gladys (Hatch) Neal in Kalamazoo.  Dick served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.  He had been a lifelong resident of Portage and was a police officer with the Portage Police Department for twenty years.  He was a member of the Kalamazoo Fraternal Order of Police Lodge and the Portage Police Officers Association.  On September 12, 1978, he was united in marriage to Debra R. (Casey-Wagner) Neal in Portage who survives.  Also surviving are son, Michael, of Oshtemo; a sister, Donna Koning of Climax; two cousins, Carol (Neal..class of 1959)Lohman, of Vicksburg and Thom Neal of Okeechobee, FL; an uncle, Carl Neal of Florida; his in-laws, Raymond and Ann Wagner of Portage; and two grandmothers, Esther Finkbeiner of Otsego and Nadine Walters of Bronson.  In accordance with the family’s wishes, cremation has taken place.    A memorial service was held with Pastor Ralph Morrison officiating.  In lieu of flowers, memorials were made to the Michigan Lupus Foundation and the Kalamazoo Nature Center Animal Rehab Program.

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