Ian William Neale
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Ian William Neale
- Aged: 79
- 16/05/1944
- 29/04/2024
- Born: Sydney, NSW
- Departed: Kogarah, NSW
Pin code: 3481
Remembering The Life Of Ian William Neale
Beloved husband to Marilyn, father to Rebecca and Sean, Father-in-law to JP and Andromeda, Grandfather to Wilson, Isadora, Koen and Charlie. Cherished brother to Cheryl.
Funeral Details
08/05/2024
11:00 am
Mary Mother Of Mercy Chapel Rookwood Catholic Cemetery, Barnet Ave Rookwood
Wake Details
08/05/2024
12:15 pm
Strathfield Golf Club , 52 Weeroona Rd Strathfield
Lovely Uncle Ian.
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen you, but you were a daily figure in my life for the first 17 years. The jovial fella across the road, the gentle man always standing close behind Aunty Maz, and always quick to make an expresso (our serve up a port, depending on the time of day) for the noisy neighbours across the road.
May you rest easy in the boundless skies, beyond those you leave behind.
Love to Maz, Bec, Sean and families; as well as Cheryl and her tribe.
Jode
xoxox
Ian Neale – what do you say about such a wonderful GENTLE man. He was such a selfless, kind and thoughtful person. I am so proud to have called him my brother in law and friend. He is now in the embrace of God”s love. Rest in peace my friend.
You have my deepest sympathy for your loss.
Please know that I am here for you.
When I think of Ian, I recall a lovely gentleman always politely smiling to me with a friendly good morning or good afternoon.
He will surely be missed by my family.
My thoughts and prayers are with you, and may god shower Ian with mercy and peace eternally.
I have fond memories of working with Ian at the NSW Treasury. He was always obliging and happy to assist new colleagues. He was always a pleasure to work with.
Ian was our good neighbour for 22 years. Just a great guy, husband, father and grandfather. Always bright and cheery, always welcoming. Leaving all of us with great memories, Jan and Brett Martin
Ian was our good neighbour for 22 years. Just a great guy, husband, father and grandfather. Always bright and cheery, always welcoming. Leaving all of us with great memories.
Ian was a fine Treasury officer-competent,diligent and friendly.Took his role seriously but not too seriously!
May he rest in peace
Our Deepest sympathy to the family at such a great loss. We have known Ian and Marilyn for over 33 years and we have been in touch constantly over this period. We have had enjoyed overseas and domestic holidays with them and they also attended our daughter’s wedding at Ballatar in Scotland.
Ian is nature’s gentleman, with a great sense of humour and zest for life and love for his family. He played an important part in his job at the State Treasury and was well respected . A man always with a smile and never a mean bone in his body, always able to fit into any company. We will greatly miss him and may he rest in peace.
Ian was Assistant Secretary, NSW Treasury and before that a senior Budget Branch officer. He was well regarded for his competence and judgement on major public policy issues involving public moneys. He assisted Chief Economist and later Deputy Secretary, Don Nicholls, implement program budgeting with both visiting the USA to see how it was done there. Ian also played a vital oversight role in the funding of the public works for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He made sure taxpayers got value for money.
But what I remember Ian most for was his congenial personality and ability to cope with the pressure of Treasury tasks. I saw him about a year ago when we crossed paths at Circular Quay. We were both in a hurry so did not chat for long. But his cheery smile as shown in the photo above remains with me. When I visited him in hospital, he was already in a semi-coma but raised his left arm when I spoke to him. Vale Ian and rest in peace.
Our sincere condolences to Ian’s beautiful family. Ian was such gentle and beautiful soul. We felt honoured to call him our dear friend and to be included in his life. He will be forever in our hearts and will miss him dearly . Rest in peace Ian. 🙏
I just was a kid loving life and will always remember our parents having a quiet drink on your balcony while we all rode scooters or bikes or roller-skates….and Christmas was always the best because Santa would visit on ur balcony and give us presents and lollies….you and all the other partners gave us a magical wonderful childhood….rest in peace Ian..❤❤❤thank u for all my wonderful memories xoxo
Great memories of my time in Unwin Street.We had great times sitting on your front verandah watching our kids all playing together and having few drinks. Very sad and thinking of you all
Ian…
You are my brother
You are my mother
You are my father
You are me.
My one and only
Big brother.
No one else is like you for me.
Bonded by family
By years of inherent trust
By time together
Shared childhood
Common foundations
By unspoken love.
I’ve been waiting for you again
Longing for you to come home
As I used to wait for you
Longing for you to come home
from school
Watching from the back door
Across the yard, over the fences
To the hill beyond
To see the school bus coming.
In this life
We take too much for granted….
You’re always being there.
Calm, capable, compassionate and content.
Loyal, logical, loving.
A grounded, generous, gentle man
Happy, healthy, humble,
Ever dependable, selfless, patient
Dedicated to family
Always being there.
Is it your time to leave?
So much you have given
So much you will leave behind
Your imprint on the world
A better place for your being here.
How does constant disappear?
You leave a physical void
But a spiritual wealth
For us to carry in our hearts
Though miles apart
In our adult years
We were always connected
Always
And still…
And forever….
In my heart
Uncle Ian,
Thank you for being such a wonderful role model throughout my life. Thanks for all the speeches at my birthdays. You never minded being put on the spot and your nature was such that you never said no. I learned so much from your kind-hearted, calm, patient and agreeable demeanour. You were as Sean so eloquently put it, ‘such a bloody good bloke’. I’m proud to say you were my Godfather. I will miss you. Rest easy. x
Reporting directly to Ian as a junior Budget Officer when he was Assistant Secretary in the NSW Treasury was a huge privilege.
It turned out that this experience significantly impacted my 30-year career trajectory in the NSW Public Service.
I am forever grateful.
At the time of microeconomic reforms initiated by the then Premier/Treasurer Nick Greiner and implemented by then Secretary of NSW Treasury, Percy Allan, Ian discerned that as a CPA, like himself, I could add value to his oversight role in the funding of huge infrastructure projects such as the Homebush Bay Development (Olympic Park) and Honeysuckle Development (Newcastle).
These were other duties far above my grade at that time.
While it turned out to be a double-edged sword, this experience was pivotal to my promotions when I left Treasury.
I am forever grateful.
Working closely with Ian made me realize that despite the high-pressure work environment in Treasury
where most of us were highly strung and so serious, one can take work seriously but simultaneously be constantly happy and friendly.
Ian saved my sanity with his example while I was in the Treasury.
During my early days in Treasury, when Ian thought I did well on a Cabinet Minute advice, he came down
to the Budget Division to personally thank me. My then-terror boss, Harold, looked at me differently since then.
I still remember to this day what the advice was on and I know why it impressed Ian –
because it invoked the principle of consistency which accounting professionals adhere to.
This one kind gesture from Ian transformed me from a nobody to a somebody and that feeling stayed with me forever.
I am forever grateful for the indelible mark Ian made on my life and my family.
Thank you, Ian. May you rest in peace.
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PS. I am incredibly grateful to Percy (Allan) for making this tribute possible. He facilitated the reconnection with Marilyn and
kept me updated with her emails throughout.
PS. Ian, I regret not having had the opportunity to tell you this in person, but I want you to know that I made the most of the chances you gave me. I retired from the NSW Public Service as the first female finance executive in the history of NSW Corrective Services, and I have you to thank you for it!
Now that you are in a better place, put on that beautiful distinctive smile of yours, praise God for me, and say that it is all for His glory!
A true gentleman that we are already missing, and always will.
The best grandpa a boy could ask for. The best father in law a man could ask for.
Our uncle Ian; always loving, laughing, happy and helpful. He was easy going, easy to be around and ours was a comfortable and familiar relationship. He was the ultimate gentleman. So gentle. So kind. So calm. So humble. Never grumpy. He was completely selfless and devoted to his family, and while there were not always big conversations, many things didn’t need to be said. He was a strong and calming presence in all our lives.
We will miss his warm, down to earth nature. We will miss his warm, bright smile. We will miss his quiet jokes and little chuckles. We hope to be more like him and will take his memory and cool, calm, collected vibe with us always.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all at this very sad time. Ian was a true gentleman always and will be greatly missed. We hold very fond memories of our friendship and send our love and sincere sympathy to Marilyn and family.
Our thoughts and prayers for Mrs Neale, Rebecca, Sean & your families through this difficult time.
I feel very fortunate to have known such a truly genuine and approachable man for most of my life. He will be truly missed.
Ian as a neighbour of 54 years we shared many splendid occasions holidays weekends away social events card and port nights Christmas Eve quite drinks while waiting for our children to retire before assembling swing sets siipery dips and on and on a lot of fun while enjoying several amber beverages after we had achieved the tasks we had to complete before Christmas morning.
Many family celebrations over the years always the ultimate enjoyment these precious times are to be cherished.
Ian was always keen to help or participate in whatever was asked of him, he did have a very kind heart a quite gentle nature.
Our neighbourhood will miss you mate thankyou for being part of our family life over all those years.
GOD BLESS you my friend resting in your eternal life May Peace Be With You.
Your Friendly Neighbour
JOHN MINTON.
Deepest sympathy to Marilyn Rebecca Sean and families Ian was a real gentleman and lovely friend and will be greatly missed by all that new him Rest In Peace Ian
Ian was a very patient Treasury Deputy Secretary who never seemed to be flustered and was always calm, considered and thoughtful about the people involved.
I will always remember him going out of his way to invite me to my very first Budget lock up, not because I would have anything to contribute, but because he thought just being there would me understand the environment (where I am continuing to work 30 years later)
I was greatly saddened to hear of Ian’s death and regretted losing contact with him in recent years. Like Ian, I served as an Executive Director in the NSW Treasury for some years beginning in the late 1990s. What always impressed me apart from his competence and expertise as a senior Treasury official was Ian’s easy-going character. If there was tension in the air, you could be sure Ian was trying to relieve the tension, not contribute to it.
Very sad to hear that Ian had passed. Worked with him at NSW Treasury and he was always a friendly and understanding manager. I particularly remember that when I completed some complex analysis on a Government agency, he made the effort to come down and give me a ‘pat on the back’ for my work. Not many Assistant Secretaries would have done that.