A good life, well lived.
The sudden and very unexpected loss of our good friend and colleague, Celtic Trust Treasurer, Ray Neil on the 16th of this month came as a great shock. Over the summer the Trustees had had limited contact with each other, and we all assumed that people would be taking holidays over that time. I knew that Ray would be going on holiday with his wife Linda to Jamaica and was not surprised, therefore, that he did not reply to a couple of messages over that time. And so, it came completely out of the blue for those of us who knew him in the context of the Trust, that he had become unwell, cancelled his holiday plans and had been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cancer. In the space of four weeks, this illness led to him entering a hospice where he died peacefully, surrounded by his loving wife, his sons and daughters and wider family.
As we all shared and discussed this terrible news it became clear that we knew only one side of Ray. All of us found him to be a pleasant, helpful and hard-working colleague. He was committed to the aims of the Trust, and like all of us, committed to Celtic. We enjoyed working with him, we had a few good laughs with him and, not surprisingly, had a few arguments – all in good faith and all in an effort to do our best for the organisation we served.
However, discussions with his family, chiefly his daughter, Lauren, who was kind enough to deliver the terrible news to us, and the picture of the man which emerged during his beautiful and well-attended Requiem Mass gave us a fuller and more rounded version of the Ray we knew. His great love for his family was apparent to me during discussions we had about his grandchildren. His lifelong love for his wife Linda who he met when they were still at school shone through, including the fact that the planned trip to Jamaica was to celebrate his Golden Wedding Anniversary. A very large number of friends, named during the service, who had been part of his circle from his early days; the great number of former workmates who came to show their respect and affection for Ray; all of this was a testament to the man who we knew and appreciated within our small bubble but who clearly was a man who had lived his life well.
I think we all would like to think that when we die people will say that we lived a long life and lived it well. In Ray’s case, sadly his life was far shorter than he and his family had reason to expect. However, there is no doubt that it was a good life, lived well and he went to his rest leaving behind a legacy of family, love, service, friendship and faith.
Requiescat in Pace, Ray. You are already missed.
Jeanette Findlay, on behalf of the Trustees and members of the Celtic Trust
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