Jan. 3, 1925 - June 21, 2012.

Neal was born January 3, 1925, in Wayne, Nebraska to Rollie E. and Sue N. (Adamson) Miller. His family moved to a Johnson County, Wyoming homestead in 1928. He was educated in Johnson County schools and graduated from Sheridan County High School in 1942.

In 1943 he entered the U.S. Army and served with the 13th Armored Division, including six months in the European Theater to mid-1945.

Upon discharge he entered the University of Wyoming and graduated with honors in 1949. In September 1950 he married Lael L. Collins of Fort Collins, Colorado.

He was then employed by the Wyoming Employment Security Commission as a Field Auditor and was stationed in Rawlins, Wyoming until 1966 when he was appointed Director of the Wyoming State Archives, Museums, and Historical Department in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In 1971 he returned to the ESC in Casper where he was the Supervisor of the State's Unemployment Insurance Offices. He retired in December of 1985. In his retirement years he devoted his time to developing a personal library of Western and Wyoming history materials.

He was part of a group of three called to Washington, D.C. to establish a Wyoming pilot program for the Humanities which is now the Wyoming Council for the Humanities. He drafted a bill and the language enacted by the legislature to create a "Wyoming State Art Gallery" within the Archives, Historical and Museums Department of the State of Wyoming.

At various times in his life he was a member of the Lions Club, Rotary, Elks, the Masonic Order and Shrine. He was two-time president of the Carbon County Historical Society, two-time president of the State Historical Society, and two-time president of the Wyoming Personnel in Employment Security.

He served 7 years on the Carbon County Health Nurses Board. He participated in seminars on public health, museum management, archival practices, and historical research. He was a member of the American Association for State & Local History & the Society of American Archivists.

He is survived by his daughter, Valera (Gregg) Dobbin of Cheyenne, Wyoming; son Wayne (Merla) Miller of Stratton, Colorado; grandson Nate (Kristen) Dobbin of Cheyenne, Wyoming; granddaughter, Celeste Dobbin of Tempe, Arizona; great-grandchildren, Karley Dobbin and Aidrik Dobbin of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Neal lived in the home of his longtime friend Robert G. Montoya. Neal was preceded in death by his parents, his younger brother Sterling and older brother Robert.

Casper Star-Tribune - June 24, 2012.