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Birth:          25 Apr 1929 Moline, Rock Island Co., Ill.
Death:          19 Jul 2004 Whitehall, Muskegon Co., Mich.
Burial:         Rock Island Nat'l Cemetery, Rock Island, Ill.

Notes
!PUBL
Bennett Fam Tree on ancestry
obit of Nancy Bennett McNeil
Dr. Donald James McNeil, 75, of Moline, passed away Monday, July 19, 2004, in 
Whitehall, Mich., at his son's house on Lake Michigan.

Visitation is 3 to 7 p.m. today at Wendt Funeral Home, Moline. Services will be 11 a.m. 
Friday at First Congregational Church, Moline, followed by a private family burial at 
National Cemetery, Arsenal Island. Memorials may be made to the American Heart 
Association or the Humane Society.

He was born on April 25, 1929, in Moline, to James and Elsie Russ McNeil, of East 
Moline. After graduating from UTHS in 1947, where he excelled in football and track, 
Don graduated from St. Ambrose University and then from the University of Illinois 
College of Dentistry in 1955. He served in the United States Air Force, stationed in 
Springfield, Mass., until 1957. He married Nancy Bennett McNeil on June 30, 1952.

A Moline dentist for nearly 50 years, Don was known as the "singing dentist" to many 
of his patients. He practiced until June 2004.

An avid sailor, he helped found the Moline Yacht Club, where he met his wife, Nancy, 
in 1947. He passed his love of sailing on to this children and grandchildren and 
thrived on watching them compete in sailing championships throughout the Midwest. A 
swimming enthusiast, he has been an annual sponsor of the Moline Blue Marlin Swim 
Association and spent decades supporting his children and grandchildren at swimming 
meets. He also enjoyed watching his children and grandchildren compete in surfing 
and windsurfing championships. Don was also a classic car collector.

He was a member of the American Dental Association, the Lake Davenport Sailing 
Club, the White Lake Yacht Club, the Spring Lake Yacht Club and the Western 
Michigan Yachting Association.

Don is survived by his wife, Nancy; and their five children (and spouses), Mitchell 
(Pam) McNeil, Oak Park, Ill., Douglas McNeil, Spring Lake, Mich., Porter (Mary) 
McNeil, Moline, Christopher (Annie) McNeil, Forestville, Calif., and Elizabeth (Jerry) 
Gill, Springfield, Ill. He is also survived by his 14 beloved grandchildren, Cameron 
McNeil, Ann Arbor, Mich., John McNeil and Ben McNeil, both of Spring Lake, Emily 
McNeil, Zoe McNeil and Willie McNeil, all of Oak Park, James McNeil, Jack McNeil 
and Ellie McNeil, all of Moline, Dylan McNeil and Evan McNeil, both of Forestville, 
and Gwen Gill, Sam Gill and Hannah Gill, all of Springfield. Area family also include 
brother-in-law, Cam Bracke, Davenport; nephew, Tom (Deb) Bracke, Moline; niece, 
Barb (Rick) Moskowitz, Moline; and Father Jim Bracke, South Bend, Ind. Don was 
preceded in death by his parents; sister, Janet Bracke, Moline; father and mother-in-
law, Harold and Gertrude Bennett, Moline; and brother-in-law, Porter Bennett.
(Rock Island Argus, July 22, 2004) 

Parents
MCNEIL James ()
RUSS Elsie ()

Siblings
MCNEIL Donald James (25 Apr 1929 - 19 Jul 2004)

Marriage To BENNETT Nancy (7 Dec 1930 - 18 Sep 2012)
    m. 30 Jun 1952 Moline, Rock Island Co., Ill.

Notes

Parents
BENNETT Harold Mitchell (12 Jun 1894 - 25 Jun 1978)
PORTER Gertrude Irene (1901 - 1995)

Children by BENNETT Nancy 7 Dec 1930 - 18 Sep 2012
MCNEIL Mitchell B. ()
MCNEIL Douglas James ()
MCNEIL Porter ()
MCNEIL Christopher ()
MCNEIL Elizabeth ()

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